


Forging a New Light

by Moonspell4



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-04
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2018-11-08 17:40:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 29
Words: 39,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11086632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonspell4/pseuds/Moonspell4
Summary: Reyes Vidal is a man with a plan for Kadara. Alyssa Ryder has her own plans for the future of all the races that came to Andromeda. Can they figure it out together?





	1. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting off with Reyes seeing Ryder for the first time in Kralla's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting with Kadara and going back and forth between Reyes and Alyssa Ryder perspectives.

Reyes had been at Kralla’s Song for about 30 minutes now. He was in a seat that was in the shadows, but afforded him a good view of the bar and the door. A glass of whiskey was on the table, largely untouched since he had arrived earlier. He made sure the meeting was set here as opposed to Tartarus, where he usually did business. It wouldn’t do to have the Pathfinder jumped on the way to their meeting by some of the thugs that lived in the slums. He had been witness to a murder before he had even reached the lift today. Just another day in paradise.

  
He studied the files that had been given to him about this new, young Pathfinder that got the job when her father had died on the first planet they landed on. If a crash could be called a landing, and on the planet that was supposed to have been their “golden” world. Little did anyone know the entire planet was toxic. According to the profile, she was young and inexperienced. The fact that she had made it this far and accomplished so much was impressive. She had managed to get outposts onto two worlds and get the Angarans to place at least a modicum of trust in the Initiative after she had saved their Moshae and done any number of favors for them. Reports were that there were actually Angara on the Nexus now and Initiative representatives on Aya. She had now set her sights on Kadara.

  
He also received plenty of intel on the crew that was under her. All except one or two exceptions were quite impressive. He hoped that she would be coming here alone, knowing that anyone in the crew would likely warn her of anything. Most had more experience than her in places like this, especially a certain Turian and Krogan.

  
He swirled the whiskey around in the glass and took a sip. It wouldn’t do to have to get up to visit the bar. They were due to meet in about another 15 minutes or so. He was happy to have set himself up as a Resistance contact in Kadara. They had gotten this meeting together. With the Pathfinder coming, he felt that he would be able to use her to his advantage in the larger game that he was playing.

  
He figured he could use her inexperience, although he knew he’d need to be careful. Who knew how much she may have grown since becoming Pathfinder. This was a gift he couldn't pass up though. If Alec Ryder were still alive he likely would never have had a snowball's chance in hell of using the Pathfinder. He looked up from his drink when he noticed someone on the upper level near the entrance. This someone was dressed in Initiative colors. Probably not the best idea in this port of exiles. She was talking to the Salarian Collective recruiter up there. He couldn’t make out what was being said, the music was too loud.

  
She turned and walked towards the stairs and came down them carefully. He watched her walk past him without a glance. She had a hoodie on and her hands were in the pockets. Her hair went to her shoulders and was red. Too red. It was obviously dyed. She had fair skin, but surprisingly enough the bright, red hair complimented instead of washing her out. She was pretty and he admired that. The clothes she had on fit her snugly and she had a look on her face that was still fresh.

  
He marveled at how much she stuck out like a sore thumb. The clothes, looking clean, she was asking for it. He stopped to consider for a moment. Maybe it was all part of a plan to do this. Make sure that everyone saw her. It didn’t fit the profile, but once again, who knew how accurate they still were. The things she had been doing and had gone through, they were things that would change someone.

  
She walked up to the side of the bar, near the windows and started looking around. She watched everything going on. Umi arguing with the Krogan about the tab got the most of her attention, but her eyes did continue to scan the bar. She half smiled when Umi stabbed her own bar to make a point.

  
She used both hands to pull her hair back, reached into a pocket and found a hair clip and put her hair up. He now noticed that there was a tattoo on the right side of her neck. It was difficult to tell what the pattern was, but it went from her ear down the side. There was likely a story about that and he made a mental note to ask about it sometime.

  
He downed the remaining whiskey in one quick gulp. It was now or never, he needed to put his master plan into motion. Everything would hinge on him winning her over and getting her onto his side and against Sloane. He’d need to be charming, which was really never an issue, but there were always things that could crop up. He stood up and sauntered over to the bar.


	2. Initial Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alyssa meets with her Resistance contact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've adjusted some of the dialogue from the game. Some will be as is from the game (I did think there were some great lines from the game) and others I'll tweak more.

She walked into Kralla’s Song. Music was blaring and there was a motley crew of characters inside. There were salarians, turians, humans and even a couple of krogan. Stares followed her as she walked down the stairs after talking to what was a Collective recruiter, looking for the bar itself. The stares didn’t bother her, if anything she wanted to be noticed. She found the bar, downstairs at the back. Alyssa walked over and looked outside the windows at the view before turning her attention back to the bar. There was an asari bartender and as she turned around to grab a drink and wait for the contact, she saw an argument happening between the asari and a krogan. The krogan, who towered over the small, blue asari was refusing to pay for his tab until she pulled a knife and stabbed it into the bar, almost severing one of his fingers. 

He paid his tab and walked away without another word. A smile played on her lips as she pulled her hair back, this place was hotter than hell and smelled bad. She already wasn’t a fan, although she had to admit that it was a great place to alien watch. What each individual’s story could be flitted through her mind. Maybe one was a vigilante that worked to keep the crappy streets of this place safe after dark. Like those old movies and comics her dad and brother enjoyed.

She saw out of the corner of her eye a man walking up to the bar, or more specifically, to her. He had on what looked like a jump or flight suit. It was different shades of blue with some tan and maybe yellow colors here and there. He had a look about him that shrieked bad boy. He definitely caught her eye and ticked off some boxes. Tall, dark and handsome. And clean. She added clean to that list. This port and the people in it were filthy. She already felt the need for a shower. He had short, dark hair, the sides were shaved close and top was a little longer brushed over to one side and dark caramel skin. He was clean-shaven and as he walked up to the bar she noticed a smirk on his face and that he was obviously giving her the once over. It was tough to tell the color of them, since the bar was pretty dark, even with the windows letting in light.

“You look like you’re waiting for someone.” His voice was dark and rich, and all she could imagine were all those movies featuring a Latin lover or Casanova. His looks certainly made her think of those old films.

Without even having to be asked, the bartender put two glasses on the bar and filled them with something. He held one of the cups out to her.

She didn’t really want to drink since she was waiting for someone and it was business, but figured one wouldn’t kill her. And anyway, if this smooth operator tried anything, she’d toss him out the window unceremoniously. “I guess I have time for  _ a _ drink.”

So far, he did have her interest though. They clinked glasses and took deep drinks. It was whiskey. Thank God.

“Shena, but you can call me Reyes. I hate code names.” He reached out his hand. She grabbed it and they shook. 

She tried to keep her surprise to herself, but wasn’t sure she had. Alyssa used to have a good poker face, but recently it had been tougher, at least around her crew. “I was expecting someone more...”

“Angaran?” he finished with a smirk. “The Resistance pays me to supply information - among other things.”

“So you’re a smuggler.” She wasn’t surprised. Everyone here had their hands in something she was sure. It was likely the only way they could survive.

He continued to smirk, but didn’t respond to her statement and urged her away from the bar. As they walked towards one of the windows he said, “Vehn Terev was arrested by Sloane Kelly, leader of the Outcasts just a couple of days ago. Word spread about what he did to Moshae Sjefa. Congratulations on freeing her along with all those Angarans on Voeld, by the way.”

Alyssa was surprised how quickly he got down to business and that he would even know about what happened on Voeld. She leaned against the wall and hoped the vibe of being cool and collected was coming off her. He had been watching her, that much had been certain before, perhaps sizing her up since he had made a beeline for her. The fact that she hadn’t noticed him initially was a bother. She was usually keenly aware of her surroundings.

The information he provided was going to throw a wrench in things. It was nice that the Angaran was easy to find, but being incarcerated wasn’t exactly a good thing. And by all accounts, the leader of the Outcasts wasn’t someone to be trifled with. 

“People are looking for his head. And Sloane….she’s a woman of the people. At least when she needs to placate them.” He leaned himself down on the edge of the window after holding his arms out to accentuate his point.

She ground her teeth together. “I like her already.”

“Well, she doesn’t like you.” He leaned towards her slightly, and then pulled away. She got a brief smell of gun oil, whiskey and some cologne. Alyssa also got a good look at his eyes. Brown with flecks of green.

“She’s never met me.” She smiled and hoped that it looked naive. Most everyone thought since she was new to the gig, she was stupid. She used that to her advantage as much as she could.

“You work for the Initiative. As I’m sure you know, Sloane was part of the uprising on the Nexus. I doubt she’ll give up Vehn easily.”

“Maybe she’ll agree to a deal. If not, I’ll just take him.”

He gave her a look that clearly said he was impressed. “If your deal doesn’t work out, there might be another way to get to Vehn. You work Sloane. I’ll talk to the Resistance.” With that, he walked away. 

She turned to him. “How do I contact you if things go south?”

He stopped and turned towards her and just smiled and winked, before turning and walking away again.

She pushed off the wall and figured now that the meeting was done, she needed to get to work meeting Sloane. 

“Hey! You gotta pay.” The bartender yelled.

She had completely forgotten about the drinks and realized that Reyes had not paid for them. She gritted her teeth and paid the bartender using her omni-tool. “Keep the change.”

“Always do.” the Asari barked. 

As she walked out, she wondered briefly if everyone on this Godforsaken planet was a jerk.


	3. Waiting and Watching

He left the bar as quickly as he could, so that she wouldn’t have time to ask any other questions or keep up with him in case that was her plan. He purposefully had left without paying for the drinks, knowing that Umi would stop the Pathfinder from leaving to pay the tab. Umi was nothing, if not predictable.

The meeting went well he thought and he had a new view of the Pathfinder now. She wasn’t an open book, that was certain. She had certainly tried to play the part of young and naive, but he knew that wasn’t actually the case. There was quite a bit of cunning in her eyes. She was quite charming in her own way though. He looked forward to working with her, maybe doing a bit more on the side, provided she was interested in a little pleasure mixed in with business. She didn’t seem like she would be, but that would make everything more worthwhile. 

What he didn’t mention was that he had already met with his Resistance contact, really the moment that the Tempest had gotten into Kadara’s atmosphere. Everything that he needed to provide her was already in hand, he just gave her the story about meeting with the contact so that he would seem more...important to her cause. He wanted to follow the Pathfinder, see what she was about.

He stood outside the bar, near the stairs that would lead up to the lift for the docks and saw her come out and blink in the bright light. She took a left instead of going to the stairs, heading for the lower door. He followed her from a good distance, trying to make sure that she wouldn’t see him if she turned around. He stepped over the prone form of someone high on Oblivion. She seemed strangely at ease for someone who was surrounded by criminals, thugs and druggies. It seemed she might be more dangerous than initially anticipated. The thought thrilled him. What tricks might she have up that Initiative hoodie sleeve?

She entered the dock and he followed. Once inside, she had stopped and was talking to an Outcast. He overheard enough of the conversation to know that the kid had screwed up, and badly. The wrong person was sent out into the Badlands. The woman had paid her protection fees and still where did she find herself now? He hated Sloane more than he could say. She let her people run roughshod over everyone.

Strangely, she offered to help the Outcast out of his bind. Reyes stopped to consider what she was trying to do here. It would make sense to try to make a name for herself by helping people. Maybe it might even make some people believe in the Initiative again. In the end, her job was to make new worlds habitable. He could only imagine that she’d want to set up an outpost here. It was one of the things that she had done with the Angarans. Give the little people a reason to love her and the leadership would eventually start listening and follow suit. He knew in this, their goals would align. 

She made her way to the lift and spoke with a young man, also in Initiative colors right before stepping inside. Going by the files he had, he figured that was Liam Costa. One of the few in the crew that was just as young and green as her. They had been on Habitat 7 together when everything had gone to shit.

Once she was on the lift, it seemed obvious she was going back to the ship. Unsure of how long it would be, he decided to keep watch on the doors back in the marketplace.

It was a couple hours later that she came out from the docks and started making a beeline for the Outcast HQ. She stopped and glared at a few Outcasts who were beating the piss out of some poor sod that hadn’t paid their protection fee. He saw her hands in fists and there were words exchanged. One of the Outcasts even moved towards her threateningly. He was suddenly concerned that he’d have to try to save her or watch her get shot. She didn’t back away from the man, but she did move on. The look on her face was a white-hot rage. Probably not the best way to go into Sloane, but it was good for him at least. This would mean that she would be less likely to actually listen to Sloane or take any offer that was provided.

He smiled as he was tailing her. So far, so good.

Outside the HQ, she was frisked, which seemed to go over about as well as could be expected. He almost fell over when one of the guards grabbed her between the legs with a look of pure assholishness on his face. That look was wiped away when she grabbed him by the hair, yanked his head back and punched him in the throat. He fell to the ground, gasping for air and the other one backed off and pulled his gun. She advanced on that guard, saying something and Reyes wished like hell he could have been closer to actually hear what was being said.

She was ushered in pretty quickly after that and he leaned against a wall in the shadows to wait for her to come out. He was really beginning to like her. Things were about to get interesting in Kadara.


	4. Well That Went Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alyssa's meeting with Sloane

It had been an exciting adventure getting to Sloane’s Headquarters. First, she had been yelled at by an Outcast that had been in the process of watching over a beating of some poor person. She had walked away from that only because SAM had spoken to her directly and made the point that they would be better off not causing a problem. They were armed, and she was not. No amount of hand-to-hand combat training would stop a bullet.These Outcasts were putting a bad taste in her mouth. They were really nothing more than glorified hoodlums. Although to be fair, this entire port was home to that element. 

She had spoken to a few of the people she came across in the port and assisted a few already. Not everyone was happy here. Some had not been part of the uprising, but had been caught up in the punishment and exiled anyway. Others, because they had family that were part of it were exiled as well. She had been hoping that she could come to an agreement with Sloane and maybe even try to bring these people back into the fold. As she saw more of the Outcasts and how they worked, those hopes were fading. They were monsters from everything that had been seen thus far. This Sloane was “ruling” with an iron fist.

Alyssa was rushed in to see Sloane after a second run-in with an Outcast that ended in violence. She walked down to a door that they led her to, where there were two heavily armed krogan guards. When it was explained who she was and what happened outside, they opened the door and led her to where Sloane was sitting. Alyssa could only think of it as a throne. One of the krogan that was behind her even pushed her a little as she was looking around and moving a little too slowly. She glared at him, but he ignored her.

Sloane was giving orders. “Focus defenses here and here. The kett have been quiet for too long.” She stopped and looked directly at her. “What.”

“That’s quite the throne. Should I bow? Kiss your ring?” She cringed inwardly once the words were out. Not the best way to start the meeting, but she was no longer in a mood to deal with this woman. She gave her a good, hard look. She was dark skinned and had the sides of her head shaved. The top was pulled back and appeared to be braided. She had a mark on the left side of her face from the nostril down a little past her lips. She couldn’t tell if it was a tattoo or a scar from here.

She received an icy glare before Sloane leaned back and asked, “What brings a Pathfinder to our humble port? Just looking to cause issues with my men?”

“Vehn Terev.” Alyssa crossed her arms. It seems that she may have heard about at least the most recent run in. “And I’d say that your people caused the issues.”

She snorted derisively. “What do you need with the man that sold out his people's most revered scholar?”

She thought for a moment before answering. “I need him to infiltrate a kett flagship. You obviously don’t like the kett. I’ll be doing you a favor.”

“Not as much of a favor as you’d think. Kadara is an Angaran port. They want Vehn dead, and I want to keep them happy.”

Reyes’ comment about placating people popped into her head. She bit back harsh retorts and merely stated, “This is bigger than local politics.”

There was a pause before Sloane responded, “You don’t need Vehn - you need his intel. I’ll let you talk to him before I put his head on a spike.”

“Vehn should be judged by the Resistance.”

“I don’t have time for a political debate. Dismissed.” She rudely saluted her.

Alyssa could barely contain her anger. She held her arms out to the side and bowed slightly. “Your Highness.”

Sloane had a hand on her weapon and appeared to be seriously considering shooting her. She turned and left, keeping her anger contained by continually reminding herself that they were armed and she was not. Once out of the room with the door closed behind her and the krogan guards laughing, she clenched and unclenched her fists.

She wished for what had to have been the hundredth time that she had either her father or brother here. Her father would have known how to handle this better, to get exactly what he wanted. She still didn’t understand why he had chosen her. Cora was far better prepared and trained for this. She knew she shouldn’t doubt and question herself, but just couldn’t help it when things didn’t go right. She needed to be stronger for everyone. There was a crew that she had to lead. Her father had his reasons for making her the Pathfinder and she was determined to live up to his standards. Scott, even though younger was the yin to her yang. Where she was quick to anger, he was more patient. He was better with words.

She left the headquarters of the Outcasts and was walking along when she heard a familiar voice ask, “Have a nice chat?”

Alyssa stopped dead in her tracks and turned. Reyes was there, leaning against a wall in the shadows. She never would have seen him if he hadn’t said something, as he really seemed to blend in with darkness. She was conflicted on seeing him as she didn’t want to deal with anyone right now, but he had promised that he would have another way to get to Vehn. She walked over to him. “I’ll say. Didn’t you see the fireworks?”

He chuckled. “Lucky for you, I have a workaround.”

“Let me guess - it comes with strings attached.” She was definitely interested, considering the huge fail she just endured, but at the same point, she knew in this place everything came with a price. The question was, was she willing to pay it?

“Not any new ones. Evfra wants Vehn alive, so when you get inside, give him this.” he leaned in close and handed her a vial. “That’ll eat through whatever Sloane’s holding him in, and it can’t be traced back to us. A Resistance agent will be waiting to pick him up.”

“Vehn’s intel better be worth it,” she muttered.

Reyes shrugged. “You’ll be the judge of that. There’s a maintenance shaft around the corner. Sending the access code to your omni-tool.” The man was pretty ballsy for doing this right outside the Outcast headquarters. She had to admire that. “That’ll get you inside. You can handle the rest.”

Feeling a little better with a second plan in place, she crossed her arms and leaned towards him. “There’s still the matter of the bill you left me with.”

He smiled at her with a glint in his eyes. “Oh? I’m usually the model gentleman.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Because I’m lying.” He was still smiling. “When you’re done, come to Tartarus. First round’s on me. I promise.”

With that, he walked away and never looked back. No matter, the rear view was nothing to shake her head at. His clothing accentuated all the right things on him. Alyssa wondered if he did that purposefully. She was kind of surprised at herself, although she wasn’t sure if he was actually interested or not. Once again, Scott was so much better at this. Better at reading people and working with them. She wasn’t entirely sure if she had flirted well. The last time she really tried was with Gil and he had bluntly responded that he liked men. The rest of the conversation had been extremely awkward. Since then things had gotten better and they were good friends, but it was still a sore spot with her that she hadn’t realized that before making an ass of herself. Gil occasionally poked fun at her over it. It wouldn’t be surprising if the fine specimen that just walked away would be more interested in Gil than in her. 

Alyssa walked towards where Reyes had indicated that she should go, stopping in some shops along the way, trying to make it look like she was just browsing around and there was absolutely  _ nothing _ shady going on. She wasn’t going to sneak into the Outcast headquarters and break a prisoner out. She felt almost dirty doing something like this. It was entirely not her style and definitely not what her parents had taught her since a young age. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

She made her way to what ended up being a dead end with a terminal. Using her omni-tool she entered the code Reyes had given her. She hoped it would work and that there wouldn’t be a ton of Outcasts trying to kill her. A sigh of relief escaped her when the grate opened up, revealing a short drop and a stairway leading down. Alyssa hopped down and followed the stairs and then the hallway as it turned right and left to another set of stairs. She went up and tried to look through the grate. 

“There is no one there.” SAM said.

She opened the grate and found herself in a small, empty room. Through another door was a large holding cell with a single prisoner.

Her discussion with Vehn went considerably better than with Sloane. He didn’t want to die and have his head mounted on a spike, so he quickly took the vial Reyes had given her. After hearing some excuses and getting the location of a transponder that might help, she left. As far as she was concerned she had done what she needed to. She made it back to the marketplace with no issues. This part had gone better than expected and she was in a much better mood. She decided she should head back to the ship. 

On the way there she came across a dead angaran in the street. People were standing around, just staring. One Outcast was grousing about another murder and not being paid enough to deal with it. She scanned the body, hoping that no one was going to notice. SAM let her know the cause of death and suggested speaking to Reyes to see if he had any information. Just one more reason to speak to the handsome smuggler.

Unfortunately, due to Sloane’s intervention, it ended up being a bit longer before she got to see him again.


	5. Into the Badlands

If she thought the port was bad, the slums were worse. Much worse. People were living in shipping containers. That wasn’t even the worst of it. They watched as a dead body was divested of anything of value. The smell was horrific. A mixture of the ever present sulfur along with death, piss and shit.

Even Drack’s sensibilities were being assaulted down here if his curled lip was anything to go by. Vetra’s face was blank, but Jaal’s on the other hand, was an open book. His nose crinkled in disgust and his frown spoke volumes. It was a day before she had been able to think about heading down here. She had ended up being recruited by Sloane’s second-in-command, Kaetus, and took transport with the turian to a cave where they took out kett. Her highness had showed up unannounced and she had to deal with insults. Liam had gone with her and the two of them managed to avoid being killed.

They came across a doctor running a clinic out of a shipping container. Lexi would be horrified. It was actually the cleanest part of the slums they had seen so far. Once Nakamoto had found out she was the Pathfinder he practically begged her to take out the place where Oblivion was being manufactured. He had discovered the drug almost by chance while trying to find a way to heal. Sloane had taken the opportunity to exploit it. She agreed, having seen so many already addicted.

They eventually made their way to Tartarus. It was the largest building in the slums, taking up two stories. The lower level was where they entered. It was dark and loud, with cages to the left with dancers gyrating to the music. People were dancing to the left and there was another cage over there as well. The bar itself reminded Alyssa of the pictures she had seen of casinos in old Las Vegas where you would go to change in chips for cash. There were bars all over it, to prevent people from getting into that area. This place made Kralla’s look high class.

“What are we here for again?” Vetra asked as she looked around.

“I’m just here to meet with Reyes. See if he has any other information and to let him know I was able to speak to Vehn. He owes me a drink as well.”

Vetra seemed like she wanted to say something, but held back.

They walked up to the bar and Alyssa was able to find out where Reyes could be located in the club and grabbed herself a drink. The bartender’s name was Kian and it sounded like he had an Irish or Scottish accent if she was going to hazard a guess. He was much more pleasant than Umi to talk to.

She took her drink and headed towards the stairs. The rest of her team grabbed themselves drinks as well and settled at a table. Before she was able to get up the stairs, a salarian pulled her aside and asked her to help locate a missing surveyor. She readily agreed and he gave her the last known coordinates of the wayward salarian. After some time to think about it, she was eager to see Reyes again. There was something about him. On her way up the stairs Alyssa thought about how she didn’t have the best luck with guys. She and Liam had one night, but she wasn’t really interested in him. It had been more of a loneliness thing on both their parts. They had decided to move past that with no awkwardness, which suited her fine. There had been no one else. She never had imagined that she needed anyone to keep her company, but without any family around she leaned on her comrades. Even though she was friends with them all, it still didn’t provide everything she wanted because at the same time, she was also their leader. Neither Vetra nor Peebee cared, so she gravitated towards them more.

Reyes was dark and mysterious. Definitely not the type to bring home to Dad. She smiled a little at the thought. Her father would likely kill him if he looked at her wrong. Anytime she had brought a guy home, whether he was a friend or not, her father would glare at them and say nothing. Most left knowing that he didn’t like them. Only a few of the toughest would come back around for a second date. She’d tried to look into Reyes’ past, but didn’t locate much aside from the fact that he was a shuttle pilot. Most of the information had been corrupted past the point of retrieval. Finding out more about the man was definitely something she wanted to do. For now though, she’d just enjoy his company and let her imagination run wild. He was dangerous and she didn’t think someone like him would want her anyway.

She walked upstairs and found the private room where Reyes liked to spend his time. Alyssa stood outside for a moment, building up the nerve to walk through the door. She was nervous. More so than when she was going up against the kett in battle. At least there she knew it was kill or be killed. There were too many unknowns here. She took a breath and walked in, trying to exude a confidence she definitely wasn’t feeling. An asari waitress was leaving after having left a drink. She was wearing next to nothing and gave her a look as she sauntered past and out of the room. Reyes was sitting alone, along a long bench on the right wall and had a tablet in hand. He looked at her and smiled in a way that sent shivers down her spine and as she walked over put the tablet down.

“Ryder! Got word from one of my colleagues that Vehn Terev made it off Kadara. He’s a free man - thanks to you.” His voice was like honey, the words practically oozed out of him.

“You helped. A little.”

He gestured to the bench next to him so she sat down next to him. He grabbed the cup that the asari waitress left. They toasted a bit.

“Always nice to be recognized.” He looked at her and she couldn’t read his emotions.

She decided to try to see what she could find out about him. Leaning back and putting an arm on the back of the seat she asked, “So, does Shena mean anything in particular? I mean, it must since you don’t seem to be a fan of it.”

There was a slight grimace, but he quickly grinned. “It means ‘mouth’ in Shelesh. I’m….good with words.”

She quirked her left eyebrow at him. Her brain went into overdrive, imagining the things that his mouth would be good at. His eyes bored into her, waiting for a response. She blurted out, “I’m sure there are lots of things your mouth is good with.”

Alyssa immediately regretted saying it. She really needed to learn to get the filter in place sometimes. Think it, don’t say it. She felt a blush creeping up her neck and hoped he didn’t see it.

He merely raised his eyebrows at her and continued to smile.

She quickly moved on to other questions and found that he didn’t have anything to do with the uprising, but ended up getting off the Nexus anyway and coming here. Apparently his life here was better than on the Nexus, at least in his mind. It was a sad state of affairs at the Nexus if people had willingly left to survive on their own. She asked about his history with the Resistance, as she was particularly curious about how a human had become part of an Angaran group.

He asked her what had happened in Sloane’s throne room. She happily regaled him with the story and made him laugh uproariously at her misfortune.

Eventually, the door opened and Vetra was standing there. She was staring hard at the smuggler. “We should head out before Drack gets drunk and starts causing a bigger ruckus than he’s already started.”

She was slightly disappointed that she had to go, but there were things to do. So many people were counting on her. Sometimes the weight of all the responsibility was crushing. She stood up and turned to thank Reyes for the drink. “I better get going.”

“Ryder.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but...you’re not really liked here. In Kadara Port.” He wasn’t smiling when he said this.

“Ouch. You certainly know how to make a girl feel loved.”

He stopped and seemed to be considering his next words. “What I’m saying is - you need a friend. Someone on the inside to help you out. I can be that guy. You need intel on exiles, Sloane, whatever - come to me.”

“Thanks. I think.”

“Pathfinder,” SAM put in on their private channel. “If you are done with this, you should ask Mr. Vidal about the murders.”

She never thought that an AI could sound impatient before now. “Do you know anything about murders that have been happening?”

There was a look of surprise on his face. “I wasn’t sure if you had heard about that. I had thought about asking you, but I know you're a busy woman.”

“There’s a fresh body outside Kralla’s. Some locals say it’s the Charlatan’s handiwork.”

He shook his head slowly. “I don’t buy it. The Charlatan is discreet, careful. Whoever did this wanted the bodies found.”

“Making a statement?”

“But to whom?”

“The killer could be unhappy with how Sloane’s running things,” she suggested.

“Less than a third of the victims are Outcasts. No, if I was a betting man, and I am - I’d say it was the Roekaar.”

“Why would Roekaar be in Kadara Port?”

“It’s Angaran-built and, before Sloane, Angaran-run. I think they came here looking for new recruits, and things got out of hand.”

“And the Angaran victims? How do they fit into your theory?”

“I did some digging. All the deceased Angara were public Milky Way sympathizers.”

“So the victims either were from the Milky Way -”

“Or supported us. It’s the only pattern I could find.”

It was an interesting theory. The man had thought this through. So he had brains along with his good looks. Extra box checked off. “An Angaran port run by aliens _would_ be a prime target for their cause.”

“Problem is, I’ve got no proof, and the Resistance doesn’t want to antagonize them.”

“Guess that’s where I come in.”

“That fancy AI of yours could scan for evidence that could implicate the Roekaar. People are scared, Ryder. This is your opportunity to win friends.”

“I sound pretty integral to this plan.”

“SAM is integral. You’re a bonus.”

“I haven’t agreed to help you yet.”

“I feel good about my chances. One of the crime scenes isn’t far. Call when you get there.” He provided the coordinates.

She turned and followed Vetra out, and thought she felt his eyes on her the entire time. She wanted to turn around, but didn’t. The door closed behind them and she let a breath out she didn’t realize she had been holding.

“You should be careful.” Vetra said.

“What?”

“I think you should be careful, he’s an exile, which makes him dangerous.”

“What makes you say that?”

“The fact that you’ve been practically drooling over him since you met him.”

She scoffed. “I have not.”

Vetra rolled her eyes. “Oh come on. You were looking into him, and you talked about him quite a bit.”

“I was trying to figure out who he was, see if he could be valuable. He’s not interested in me anyway I’m sure.”

Vetra snorted. “He is willing to give you intel and help you out, when just about no one else will. That means a lot in these areas. Also, if I really need to say it, saying you are a bonus is a pretty big hint.”

“Of what?”

Vetra smiled. “I think you know. You aren’t _that_ clueless. Drack would agree, after threatening to rip Reyes in two with his bare hands. You aren’t exactly good at this flirting thing are you?”

Her eyes widened. “Really, Drack would do that? And if you thought I was good at flirting, you must have me mistaken with my suave, younger brother.”

“Yeah, he thinks of you kind of like his granddaughter, although don’t tell him I said that. He’d get upset. He’s a big teddy bear under that tough exterior. I tend to think he’s just getting old and soft.”

“Who’s getting old and soft?” Drack grunted at them.

“No one important.” Vetra fired back.

She enjoyed hearing the back and forth between the different members of the team. It was interesting to see how they got along, or not. Either way, the rides in the Nomad were always interesting.

They made their way to the gate and came to a building. Inside, there was a krogan behind a desk. He was just as cranky as every krogan that she had come across. Kesh was probably the least crabby one she knew. Maybe it was because she was a woman.

They went outside and the Nomad was out there waiting for them, as promised. A forward post had been set up as well. They took some time to look at the surrounding land. They were on a slight hill and could see reasonably far. There was a monolith in the distance and she knew that there would be a vault somewhere as well.

“Is everything supposed to be on fire?” Vetra asked in amazement.

“It would explain the smell.” Drack said.

“Everything is so pointy. I don’t like it.” Jaal grumped.

They all hopped into the Nomad and Ryder got into the driver’s seat.

“Shit.” Drack mumbled.

Once in, SAM went over some points of interest and things to be aware of that he had picked up from information about the place.

“Well, let’s get this done. The positive thing is, it looks like that murder scene Reyes mentioned is in the same area as the transponder that Vehn hid.” Ryder hit the gas, sending them careening into the Badlands.


	6. Playing with Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a bit longer than I wanted it to. After writing it out, then gutting it and writing and then gutting...I think it is at least to a point where I'm reasonably happy with it.

Once she swaggered out of the room with Vetra Nyx he was able to reflect on how the meeting went. In his opinion it had gone decidedly in his favor. She had gotten on the trail of the murders by chance and all he had needed to do was give her his ‘theory’ and the navpoint. He already had plants in the Roekaar and knew they were behind the murders, but wasn’t going to tell her that. She needed to put the puzzle pieces together and come to the conclusion on her own. She obviously cared, or was at the very least eager to get herself a good name here. He had also managed to drive the point home that she wasn’t liked, but that  _ he _ would be there for her. It was quite delicious. In the end though, he had given her plenty of truth. He wanted to help her. His endgame was to have an Initiative outpost on Kadara. He wanted peace, which they wouldn’t have with Sloane in power. It was only a matter of time before she went against the Initiative outright. Having Kadara port would eventually not be enough for her. The only way to get that done was to get the Pathfinder on his side and remove Sloane.

His thoughts went back to how spending what little time he had with Ryder was nice. It had been a day since he had first met her and she had made quite the impression. Actually having more time to speak with her only made him realize how much he liked her. She had a good sense of humor. Even though she could have come out of the Outcast HQ in a bag, or several, she made the story entertaining. She seemed particularly interested in him and had put some trust in him, which he hadn’t been anticipating. The Pathfinder definitely hadn’t been what he was expecting at all. She had a way of making him feel at ease, almost as if they had known each other for longer than just a few hours really. He fought with his emotions, she was the Pathfinder, part of the Initiative and he was a smuggler….and so much more. She would likely never forgive him for the things that he did.

Ryder’s pull was strong and he was being drawn in. He needed his head back in the game. There was work to do, so he began to review his intel on the Roekaar hideout while he made his way to his shuttle. His people had already infiltrated the group, thanks to Keema and found their base of operations in the badlands. Currently, it had just a small skeleton crew. The rest were likely doing what they did, murder and attempting to gain new recruits. They were nothing if not predictable. He knew that he would be able to get Ryder there, it was just a matter of time. He ordered his plants to place a bomb in the cave and get the hell out.

Now it would be a matter of waiting for Ryder to put those pieces together. 

In the meantime, he would be making a visit to the Collective’s base of operations.

After a reasonably quick flight he found a decent spot to land that was close to the cavern system that hid the main base.

He entered the cave and quickly followed it to the door they had installed. Once inside he made a beeline for the main building. The agents inside paid him no mind. He was just a smuggler that worked for the Collective, nothing more. The number of people who knew his true identity could be counted on one hand.

The woman he was going to see was one of those and his second in command. Crux was in the top room, and was surprised to see him. She put that aside quickly and ordered everyone else out.

“What can I do for you, Reyes?” she asked casually. 

“I wanted to check on how things were going.” It wasn’t a total lie, but he had more pressing concerns as well. On the way here reports had come in that told that Collective agents were getting in firefights with the Pathfinder.

“Everything is good. We’ve got enough supplies to last us if anything were to go wrong and no one has found this place. We did have a salarian that got close, but he fell to his death yesterday.”

That was something else. He thought he recalled Ryder having spoken to someone in Tartarus about finding a missing salarian that was going to try getting samples of something. That just made it all the more important what he was about to order. “Have you rooted out the phony?”

“Not yet.”

“When the Pathfinder and her group show up here, she is to be allowed full access. Get  _ her _ to find out who it is.”

Crux’ eyes widened in surprise. “Are you sure - I mean.”

“Yes, I’m sure. You’ve had no luck yet and people have died. Give her the chance. She’s resourceful and has the AI. The Pathfinder may succeed where you have failed. She is not to be accosted at all. If anything, we need to look reasonable, much more so than Sloane. As of now, it is not a matter of if she finds us, only of when.”

Crux nodded and didn’t argue any further. “I’ll get the word out.”

“Do it quickly. If I hear that anyone has tried to hinder the Pathfinder and her team, they will be dealt with swiftly. She’s already come across some of our operatives in the field and has torn into them like a hot knife through butter. There won’t be a Collective left if we keep getting into fights with her. If anyone comes across her out in the Badlands, they’re to keep their distance, do not engage. If they’re trying to pull off a mission and she comes into play, they’re to abort immediately.”

Crux nodded again. “I’ll make sure it’ll be all set.”

“Good. She is integral to the plan to take the port from Sloane. We don’t want to push her away or accidentally kill her. There would be hell to pay on all fronts. I also want everyone ready to move at a moment’s notice.”

“I’ll make sure that everything is ready.”

There was a reason he trusted Crux. She was efficient and the people under her trusted her. She hadn’t failed him yet. He was satisfied that she would handle everything and that nothing would happen to Ryder. With that, he started asking questions on the more mundane items on the list.

Soon enough, he was on his way out. It wouldn’t do for him to be here long, in case Ryder came calling before reaching out to him. She was likely nowhere near here, but one could never be too careful. There’d be no way he could explain that away.

He went back to his shuttle and settled in to wait for Ryder to put the pieces together. It was a bit longer than anticipated, but only because she had gotten tied up along the way with other things, like destroying the building where Oblivion was manufactured. She had apparently taken the recipe for the drug as well, which was something else that would go straight up Sloane’s ass. The bad news was, Collective members had been lost when they showed up trying to get the exact same thing. They had been taken out swiftly. Reyes cursed softly and hoped that Crux would get the word out before there were any further issues between the Collective and Ryder’s crew.


	7. Not Everything is on Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Roekaar mission

It was almost an enjoyable drive. Aside from the local wildlife trying to kill them, the bandits and toxic lakes. They had made a few stops along the way and managed to accomplish at least one task, but they picked up five more.

Eventually they made their way to a small place, which she thought was akin to a hostel back in the Milky Way. A Turian ran it and was disappointed to hear that his Krogan neighbor had been murdered, as it kept trouble away.

They found the transponder pretty quickly, it was right where Vehn had said it was. She liked things easy, so little had been since their arrival here. One item down, one more to deal with.

At the krogan’s home, they managed to ferret out some clues and agreed to meet Reyes at a spot where the Roekaar were known to have a base. Alyssa was more than happy to get out of there, as the krogan’s body had begun to rot and the smell was horrific. Even Drack had gagged.

Alyssa smiled when she had the navpoint. “I guess we’re traveling more.”

“Please tell me someone else can drive.” Drack muttered.

“I find Ryder’s driving very relaxing,” Jaal stated.

They all looked at him in amazement. Vetra eventually asked, “Are we talking about the same person here?”

Jaal shrugged. Inside the Nomad she checked the best route to the navpoint. “Looks like we’ll get to explore some of the finer points of interest.”

“The ones on fire?” Drack asked.

“They’re not all on fire.” Alyssa argued.

“Only most of them.” Vetra observed.

Alyssa just sighed. It wasn’t worth arguing as she was outnumbered.

The drive to the navpoint was enlightening. They located an ideal spot to set up the next outpost. They just needed to activate the vault and prevent war between The Collective and the Outcasts. So far, they were no closer to accomplishing either task. She hoped that would be rectified soon.

Additional wildlife and outlaws slowed them down in getting to where she wanted to go. Her only consolation was that it was likely that Reyes would be slow in getting there as well. At least she hoped that would be the case. In all honesty, she had no idea how he would be getting there.

Jaal actually managed to stay awake through the journey. Maybe it was because she wasn’t driving as crazily as normal. She did find driving up and down the sides of mountains insanely fun, but not everyone enjoyed that sort of adventure. On Voeld she had driven off more than one cliff, engines racing wildly. Depending on who was in the Nomad, there were either screams of fear, excitement, or snoring.

As they drove around, he was able to point some places out. As they drove through one area with caves, Jaal remarked, “This area is called Draullir. It means death caves.”

“Charming.” Ryder responded.

“Not really.”

She thought about responding, but decided against it and instead just suppressed a sigh.

They eventually reached their destination. There was no sign of anyone around. She stopped the Nomad and they all got out.

“Are we sure this is the right spot?” Vetra asked.

“It is - but no Reyes.” Jaal confirmed.

They all pulled their weapons and went towards the building. She was trying not to think about the worst. He was likely just inside waiting for them. A thought that this was a trap flitted into her mind and she broke out into a slight sweat. The door opened and they walked in to find...nothing.

“He should be here.” She said, trying not to betray the growing dread she felt.

“You like him.” Jaal remarked.

“I do not and that’s not -”

She was interrupted by heavily armed Roekaar coming in and point weapons at them. One ordered, “Don’t move.”

She raised her arms in surrender. “Parley?”

“Shut up. Farah will deal with you.” he said as he confiscated their weapons.

They were brought farther into the building, which turned into a large cave. There was a group of Roekaar near the entrance, and who knew how many farther back, which went out of sight. Still, no sign of Reyes anywhere. She resigned herself to the fact that this was either a trap or he was already dead somewhere.

A female angara surrounded by guards came up to them. This must be Farah. They had already taken their weapons, so she tried to look as nonthreatening as possible.

“I think you know what happens next,” Farah said.

“We only want to talk.” She hoped that she might be able to get out of this. Once again, she wished for Scott. He had been able to talk them out of more than a few problems when they were younger. Problems she had mostly caused.

“We don’t talk with outsiders.”

“What about one of your own?” Jaal asked and stepped forward.

“You eat with them. Travel with them.  _ Smell _ like them. You’ll bleed as the others have.” Farah pulled out a knife.

This was decidedly not in their favor. Well, if she was going to die, she was going to go down fighting. She slowly worked to adjust her stance and decided to try to keep the woman talking. “So it’s true. You murdered innocent people.”

“Invaders and sympathizers?” she scoffed. “They are not innocent. I will protect my home.”

“Don’t let your hate poison you. We can coexist.”

Farah laughed bitterly. “Sloane lies to and uses my people for power. How is that coexistence?”

“I’m not Sloane.”

“You are all the same.”

Farah moved forward and raised the blade to strike and a shot rang out. She let out an anguished cry and dropped the weapon. Alyssa turned to see Reyes coming down the stairs at a run with an assault rifle raised. The man had timing and good aim.

“Not so fast.” he said as he came down, gun at the ready.

“It’s about time.” She hoped that she looked as calm as she sounded. She was more than relieved to see the smuggler. All the fears about it being a trap or that he was dead were extinguished.

He gave her that smile. “I’ve got a good reason. You’ll see in three…”

“Don’t just stand there!” the Angaran leader yelled as she backed off.

“Two…”

“Kill them!”

An explosion went off behind the Roekaar, throwing several away from the blast. Ryder’s eyes opened wide. How in the hell had he managed to plant a bomb? Some debris made it over to them, but that had been it.

“Still mad?” he glanced sideways at her with a grin.

She ran forward and grabbed a gun that had been dropped, an assault rifle. While she preferred her Isharay sniper rifle and picking people off, in the chaos that was going to follow this would work better. 

Drack rushed headlong into a group of dazed Roekaar before they could recover and just started headbutting and bashing anything that moved while roaring. He’d eventually find his gun and then there’d be hell to pay. She loved having a krogan on her side. Vetra and Jaal found guns and started shooting.

They took down Farah with little fanfare. The rest of the battle was pitched and the group had snipers of their own. Alyssa managed to avoid a shot and found her Isharay, with no damage. She grabbed it and hunkered down behind piled crates. There was still a round was in the chamber. 

Reyes found cover right next to her, crouched down with his back against them. “Are you looking to get the snipers?”

“Preferably before they get one of us.”

“They’re both up on the higher level to the right. At 1 and 12.”

That was all she really needed. She exhaled, found an opening in between crates and set up her shot. She had to trust the team. They would protect her, otherwise she had her shields for a number of shots. With no wind to worry about, she’d be able to take the shot faster, unless the sniper stayed in cover. 

Luck was on her side for once. One was up and taking aim. She held her breath, aimed and pulled the trigger. His head exploded and the body dropped. She got back down and reloaded.

“Nice shot.” Reyes complimented.

She smiled. An angaran came around the crates. Reyes leaned out and took care of him. A bullet ricocheted off the wall near his and he jerked himself back closer to the crates. “The other sniper didn’t appreciate you killing his comrade.” He commented.

“They aren’t very good. That shot went wide.”

“I’m pleased to know they aren’t very good.”

She chose to stay silent, because if she said anything it would have been embarrassing. Think it, don’t say it. Alyssa took a chance and stood up. She knew she’d be a target, but needed to get an idea what was happening. Someone was sneaking up on Vetra. She raised the gun and took a quick shot. The bullet hit him in the chest and threw him back. She reloaded without bothering to duck back down. That wasn’t the best shot and hardly the way to use a sniper rifle, but pressure was mounting. Reyes took some shots to keep others under cover. 

A red laser flashed that some snipers used to help aim. She considered that a weakness that only gave away one’s position. There were some explosions as grenades were thrown. Something suddenly jerked her backwards. She landed heavily on her back, barely managing to avoid smashing her head on the uneven floor. Then Reyes was on top of her as a grenade exploded close by. The blue light of a shield flared around him as the shock wave and even some debris rained down on them.

“My hero.” Time seemed to slow a little. If they weren’t in the middle of battle, she was almost sure he might have kissed her.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for a damsel in distress,” he purred. Reyes definitely hesitated a moment before he got up and offered his hand. She took it and he pulled her up with no effort. She exchanged the sniper rifle for the assault again. They made a beeline for the raised platform, shooting as they went. The other sniper was still hiding. “It’s always nice to see a woman who has options.”

She smiled grimly. This was a man who was enjoying what he was doing. It helped that he was good at it. She heard Drack yelling. One of the Roekaar went flying through the air. She almost felt bad for them. Almost. They made it to the back where there was access to the small, raised platform. They made their way up and a few shots went wild. She ducked down. Behind her Reyes popped off a couple shots in response. The sniper took cover.

She looked at Reyes. He raised his eyebrows and tossed a grenade. There was an explosion. A body went flying. “I think the platform is clear now. You can use it to pick off anyone left over.”

“You are extremely helpful to have around.”

“I’d say that we make a good team.” Reyes responded. That smile again.

“You might be right about that.”

They moved to the edge of the platform and took cover behind metal plating attached to the railing. There were still explosions and shots going on, but when they both stood up, ready to take on more, it was all over. Vetra, Jaal and Drack were standing below, looking up at them. She saw Vetra lean in to say something to Drack, who appeared to grunt in response. Jaal just looked on passively.

Ryder smiled and waved. 

They spent the next hour or so clearing out the cave and making sure there were no more live Roekaar around. They found a few things of interest and once they felt they got everything they could they went back to the entrance. Reyes was bringing up the rear.

Once there, he declared, “The streets of Kadara are safe again. You did good, Ryder. I’ll make sure all the important people know who to thank.”

“We make a good team.”

“Careful - I’ll start thinking you like me.” As he walked past her, his shoulder brushed up against hers and he stopped. Reyes looked directly at her. They were almost within kissing distance for the second time.

“Would that be so bad?” She wasn’t entirely sure where her sudden boldness was coming from.

“Depends. Don’t be a stranger, Pathfinder.” With that, he left. Alyssa was really keyed up now. Between the battle and being so close to Reyes she felt electrified. She had seen what appeared to be a monolith close by, so they left the building and headed to the Nomad.

“What now?” Vetra asked.

“I’m pretty sure there is a monolith nearby. We’ll hit that and then maybe we can get to the others and get this vault handled.”


	8. Snap Out of It

Reyes bugged out of the Roekaar hideout as quickly as he could. He had landed his shuttle not far from here where it was concealed by rocks. Despite the fact that he had wanted to keep a distance from Ryder, she was getting under his skin. He felt such a connection to her, it was insane. The fact that he had almost kissed her in the cave, not once, but twice was worrisome. He ran a hand through his hair. She was more spectacular in battle than he had imagined. 

A bottle of whiskey was waiting back at Tartarus and he had the feeling he’d be drinking all of it. He normally would keep himself to a three drink limit, but he wanted to stop thinking about the Pathfinder. He wondered if she actually felt something for him. Sometimes he didn’t think so, but other times... It appeared that she enjoyed his company and was funny as hell at extremely inappropriate times and ways, which meshed with his own sense of humor. He found himself wanting to spend more time with her. It was one reason he wanted to get away from her so badly at this moment. These feelings weren’t something he had for a long time. There had been women, but nothing special. The last time he had really trusted anyone, aside from Keema, was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. Now, when he wasn’t with her, he was thinking about being with her. Thus far, he hadn’t been with her very often, so there was a lot of time she was taking up in his brain. He kept trying to reconcile the fact that he was using her with the fact that he fancied her. Shit like this never worked out. It would all end badly. She’d see that there was no good in him and she’d be gone. She was a Pathfinder after all. There was really no future with her. She probably didn’t actually like him in that way anyway. He had seen the mischievous glint in her eyes when he told her what Shena had meant, and she had a quick retort for it. No, this was just flirting, she likely did it with everyone.

He kept trying to tell himself all these things so that he would snap out of it. Still, he hoped that she would show up in his little sanctuary in Tartarus, so he could spend just five minutes with her. He wanted to go back and just tag along to whatever her next destination was now.

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair again as he reached the shuttle. There was a lot that he needed to get done, and he needed to concentrate and be at his best. Distractions were deadly in his line of work. 

Reyes made it back to the port in no time at all. Down to the slums and the bottle of whiskey that awaited him. He stopped and talked to Kian for a while. Since it wasn’t too late, the music wasn’t as loud and he was one of his trusted Collective agents. He told the bartender about the Roekaar base and how the Pathfinder had saved the day. Kian was good at getting word out about things.

Once that was done and he had his bottle, he walked up stairs and into his private room. He poured himself a good helping of whiskey and downed it. A sigh escaped him and he settled down into his normal place. It was still early, at least for Kadara. The sun was only beginning to set now and the port would really come to life in the evening. He thought about pulling in one of the dancers to pass the time, but wasn’t feeling up to it. It had actually been a long day in the grand scheme of things. He had been trying to make himself available for the Pathfinder whenever she might be around, and had been spending a lot of time in the slums doing a lot of waiting. There was plenty to keep him busy, something always needed his attention.

He was settling in for an evening of drinking when the doors opened. His eyes made their way over, hoping that perhaps a certain someone would be there. He was unpleasantly surprised to see Zia Cordier instead. He took another shot of whiskey to try to get the bad taste out of his mouth at seeing her.

She walked in and sat down right next to him. He resisted the urge to slide away. She smiled at him and he wondered how it was that he ever found that smile irresistible. 

“Reyes Vidal.” What was supposed to have sounded sexy came out more like a low, predatory growl.

“Zia. What brings you here?” He barely managed to keep his voice even and worked hard to keep his face neutral. She was unstable at best and at her worst...well...things could explode quickly.

She leaned sideways onto the back of the bench and crossed her legs. “What, I can’t pay a visit to my favorite smuggler?”

He grimaced. “Cut the bullshit. Why are you fucking here? I think I made it pretty clear the last time that we were through.”

She reached out to him and this time he did slide away, avoiding her touch. She frowned. “I didn’t think you were truly serious about that. I figured if I gave you some time…”

“To what? Come to my senses? You tried to stab me. In the throat.”

She smiled again. “You take things too personally.”

“I think any sane person would take that personally. Now, if you would just get out.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Seriously Reyes, get over it.”

“Get. The. Fuck. Out.” He blatantly reached for the pistol that was still strapped to his thigh.

She stood in one fluid motion. “There’s no need to threaten me. Just remember, I tried to patch things up with you. Whatever happens after this is on you.”

She stormed from the room and a sigh of relief escaped when the doors closed behind her. He made it a point to actually lock the door and turn on the cameras that had been installed outside the door, that way he’d know who was coming in and could decide whether to let them in or not. There was some worry about her threat, but that was something that could be dealt with later. It was one of the more bizarre meetings he’d had with her after their breakup. He ran a hand through his hair, poured another glass and downed it.

He was almost done with the bottle and was feeling relaxed when a call came in. Against his better judgment, he took it. It was one of his information contacts, that wasn’t yet part of the Collective. He was sending him on errands to see how useful he could be before allowing him in.  “What’s going on?”

“I thought you should know that the cargo that you were going to smuggle has been hijacked.”

“What??”

“There was a group, and it appears it was led by some woman.”

He closed his eyes, trying to keep his composure. The timing was too close to be a coincidence. Through gritted teeth he asked, “What did she look like?”

“Kind of tall, brown hair that was kind of short. Sounded like a french accent.”

He ground his teeth together. He would not lose his carefully crafted control while he was still talking to someone. “Did you see where they went?”

“They took the cargo and went into the badlands. I didn’t want to go out there to chase them since it is getting dark. I can keep an eye on when they come back and let you know.”

“Do that. I want to know where she goes while in port.”

“I’ll let you know.”

Reyes ended the call and threw the empty glass in his hand across the room, where it shattered. He let an angry scream out and put his hands on his face. “Mother fucker.”

Zia always knew how to throw a wrench into any one of his schemes. He needed that job for extra funds. It was supposed to have been a big payout for very little actual work. Now he’d need to scramble to find out what she had done with everything. He took a pull directly from the bottle and suddenly had an idea. He’d ask Ryder to help him get the cargo back.

Little did he know it would be a few days before he’d see her again.


	9. A Brief Stop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick meeting before rest.

It ended up being a longer expedition than anticipated locating the three monoliths and getting them activated. They ended up locating the Collective’s base of operations in Draullir and had an extremely odd situation where the group welcomed them with open arms and had them figure out who was pretending to be the Charlatan. They had solved the problem, at the cost of a suicide of the person in question. It had given Alyssa a lot to think about.

They were heading back to the port to restock and get some much-needed rest. The group was running a bit ragged. She screeched to a halt in front of the building that provided access to and from the port from the badlands. She radioed to Kallo that they would be returning to the Tempest and the Nomad would need to be taken care of.

Sighs of relief escaped from everyone once they were through the gates. The world had its own sort of beauty, but had an equal amount of danger to go along with it. Her bed on the Tempest and the showers were calling her name. It was currently a toss up as to which would get her attention first. She couldn’t help her eyes from wandering over to Tartarus and wondering if Reyes was there though.

The others had started slowly walking towards the lift at the far end of the cave that would bring them back to the ship. She made a decision. “You guys go ahead and I’ll follow you shortly.”

They all turned to her at once. There was a knowing look that passed between them, combined with a grumpy one on Drack. Slowly they turned and walked towards the lift too tired to even argue. No one had slept well the past few days. She wasn’t even sure where her sudden boost of energy was coming from.

It seemed like a long walk to the club, but eventually she was inside on the lower level. Derc was sitting in the same spot he had been in when he asked her to locate his missing surveyor. She popped over and broke the bad news. He thanked her for her time and gave her some credits. She moved on to the stairs and slowly climbed them to Reyes’ room. The doors opened and Alyssa walked in.

He was there, in the spot he had been before. He looked up, saw it was her and smiled. It was almost like he had been waiting there. “Ryder! You have excellent timing. I was just thinking about you. Now I don’t need to go to the trouble of looking for you.”

She turned and pointed to the door. “In that case, maybe I should go. You look like the type who enjoys the chase.”

He chuckled. “Looks can be deceiving. I’m too shy for that nonsense.”

“Oh yeah. A real introvert.” She paused, “So, what did you need me for?”

“A business rival - Zia Cordier - lifted cargo I was moving for a client.”

“You want me to help you get it back.”

“We worked so well together on the Roekaar job. I thought you’d be willing.” For a moment she thought he might pout.

“We cut the profits 50/50.”

He chuckled again. “60/40. Final offer.”

“Deal.” She was too tired to argue further and disappointed this turned into a business meeting.

“When she stops in Kadara, Zia drinks at Kralla’s Song. We’ll start there. See if Umi heard anything that could help us.”

She tried to stifle a yawn.

His look changed for a moment, she thought perhaps she saw concern and maybe a little surprise. “Did you just get back?”

She nodded.

“And you just let me go on about business. You need rest. Are the others waiting outside?”

She shook her head. “I sent them back to the Tempest. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll escort you back.” He stood up.

“What? No. I can handle myself. It’s just to the lift. Anyway, you probably shouldn’t be seen with me. Initiative lackey that I am.”

“While I do agree you can handle yourself, you are still just one person in a very bad place. There are plenty of people would be more than happy to kill you.” He grabbed her arm and they walked out of the room and through the club.

In no time at all they were at the lift and then on it. He continued holding her arm, almost as if he were courting her like they were some sort of royal couple instead of a smuggler and Pathfinder. He kept the talk light and away from business. Once the lift arrived at the Tempest he let her arm go.

“If you think you’d be up to it, we could meet at Kralla’s Song tonight.”

“I’ll let you know on that one. I feel like I could sleep for days.”

“Of course. There’s time. Reach out when you’re ready.”

She got off the lift and then turned and watched as he hit the buttons and went down. He gave her an informal salute and a smile.

Once he was gone, she made her way on to her ship. Inside she saw a few people, but managed to avoid speaking to anyone. As she walked to her quarters she debated whether or not she should shower first. When the doors closed behind her, the decision had been made and she just started shedding her armor. Not bothering to be neat about it, she left a trail from the door to the bed. She collapsed onto it and was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since posting...lots of things going on and this got pushed back a bit. Hoping to catch up and post more.


	10. One Day Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meeting w/Reyes at Kralla's.

Alyssa woke and it took a moment for her brain to register where she was and the day. The pillow around her head was wet and the position was the same as when she collapsed into bed. She pushed herself up and looked at the pillow while wiping at her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt and blinking in the bright light of day.

“SAM, what time is it?” She mumbled.

“It is around 7 in the morning.”

Her eyes popped open. “How long did I sleep for?”

“15 hours.”

She rubbed her eyes. “How did that happen?”

“I made sure you were not disturbed. You needed the rest after days of very little of it. Vetra, Drack and Jaal also took long periods of rest.”

“Thank you. I should shower now.” She could actually smell herself and it wasn’t pleasant. The bedding would need a good washing after this. She hit the bathroom and made the mistake of looking in a mirror. Her hair was a mess and her clothes were rumpled, which were really the least of her concerns. She brushed her hair out and then took a long, hot shower. Her skin was red after a good scrubbing. It felt good to be clean again. The little things she took for granted back in the Milky Way were those that she enjoyed the most since coming to Heleus. Thankfully, no one barged in and disturbed her.

Once clean she got dressed and checked her e-mail. There always seemed to be so much of it. Crew asking to speak with her about things, items from the Nexus, and somehow anyone that she had managed to need help would send her messages. She wondered if the address was posted on some public place that told everyone to e-mail the only Pathfinder in the galaxy as much as needed.

One in particular caught her eye though. It was from Reyes.

_ Ryder, _

_ Spread the word at Tartarus and in port of your expert handling of the Roekaar. I only made a few embellishments and left out my involvement, of course. Wouldn’t want to steal your spotlight. _

_ Not that I really could - you’re something else, Ryder. _

_ Reyes _

She beamed at the terminal as she read it more than a few times. The rumbling stomach interrupted her and realization dawned that she hadn’t eaten in quite some time. That was going to change. A positive was that the kitchen was right next to her quarters, and it had cereal and milk. Freeze dried, but no one was going to hear any complaints. She sat down at the table and ate while turning the correspondence from Reyes over in her mind. It wasn’t clear what made her happier, that people were talking about something positive she had done or Reyes’ compliment. 

No one bothered her while eating and she was beginning to wonder if anyone else was on board. Once done she started looking for people and found that everyone was there. Vetra and Drack were in the crew quarters and greeted her. Both looked like they wanted to say something, but kept their mouths shut. Lexi was in the Medbay and gave her an impromptu checkup to make sure she was feeling OK before allowing her to move on.  Everyone else was around and working. Gil said something about people thinking she might have been dead in her quarters, but SAM wouldn’t allow anyone in. SAM’s reassurances were the only thing that kept them from breaking down the door.

It was a good time for a meeting to go over everything that had happened. They got together in the vidcom area of the Tempest. Vetra, Drack and Jaal had given everyone a rundown of what had happened out in the badlands. Now they were looking to her for the next move. Drack had intel and wanted them to head to Elaaden to help his people. Cora received word on the Asari ship and wanted to follow that lead, and Jaal argued about hunting the Archon, as that was the priority. His people were dying.

Gil had only gotten the transponder a short time ago, so the Archon couldn’t be 

followed as he was still trying to figure out how to get it hooked up and working. He did indicate that he anticipated having an update within a few days. With all information the decision was that Kadara’s vault would be handled first and then they would decide where to head next. First thing was that she needed to reach out to Reyes, there was another job he had to try to get them a better foothold in port. Vetra, Drack and Jaal exchanged looks. She ignored it and told Vetra and Drack she wanted them in port keeping their eyes and ears open. Reyes had started telling people about their handling of the Roekaar. She wanted to get an idea on what the reactions were. She also wanted them to do some digging and try to get intel on the Charlatan. The two were more widely known and respected here. She wanted Jaal to speak with other angara to see how they felt about both the Outcasts and Collective.

Peebee expressed worry about being recognized, and dirty looks. With that, Peebee and Cora were nominated to go out to the Vault with her. Peebee looked excited at the prospect. Remtech was her forte. First things were first though. She wanted to give herself a day to rest up before going back out.

She went back to her quarters and cleaned up the armor and checked it for damage and then reached out to Reyes on her omni-tool. They made plans to meet in about an hour, which would give her time to grab a quick bite for lunch before heading to Kralla’s Song.

Most everyone, aside from Liam, Jaal, Kallo, Suvi and Lexi had already gotten off the ship by the time she was heading to the bar. Drack was already there, keeping a watchful eye. He acknowledged her with a slight nod.

Reyes was already at the bar, leaning over it with a drink. She smiled and the exact line she would use popped into her head. She walked up beside him and said in a sultry voice, “You look like you’re waiting for someone.”

He looked at her with a smile and replied, “That’s my line.”

Umi groaned. “You want a drink or a room?”

“Information actually,” he stood up straight. It still amazed her how quickly he could go from being flirty to business.

“That’ll cost you more than a round of drinks.”

“My friend’s good for it.” 

She groaned internally. Stuck with another tab, this one likely bigger than the last. She looked over at him. “I’ll expect something in return.”

“You’re one person I’ll happily owe  _ something _ .” 

Umi groaned again and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want to know?”

“Zia Cordier. She been around recently?”

“You mean your ex? Yeah, she was here.” Umi had an evil grin on her face.

This was news. She knew she shouldn’t be shocked, he likely had quite a past. What surprised her was the jealousy that briefly raged. “Ex? As in  _ girlfriend _ ?”

He started trying to cover himself after getting over his surprise. “Girlfriend is a  _ strong _ word. We had drinks occasionally. Soâ€¦” he coughed to clear his throat and glared at Umi who continued to smile. “She was here?”

“Yeah. She met with a salarian. Shifty guy I’ve never seen before. Maybe it was the Charlatan.”

“Anything’s possible. You hear anything?”

“They were planning to meet someone at Spirit’s Ledge.”

“Thanks Umi.”

“Whatever. You didn’t hear it from me.”

Reyes looked at her. “If you check the meeting spot I’ll follow the Collective lead. Doubt Zia was meeting the Charlatan, but you never know.” 

He had started to walk away, so Alyssa grabbed his arm and asked, “Is this job about getting your cargo back or one-upping an ex?”

He squirmed almost imperceptibly and then smiled broadly. “Why, Ryder...are you jealous?”

“Answer the question.”

He laughed almost nervously and escaped from her grip. “It’s about the cargo. Give me a call when you get to the meeting spot.”

He walked away. Almost too quickly. She saw Drack shoot his retreating form a look. Turning back to the bar, she ordered a drink from Umi, had a reasonably pleasant conversation the surly asari, paid for everything and headed off. It would be best to take more time to rest before heading out to the badlands. She took the night off and had some drinks with everyone but Kallo and Suvi at Kralla’s. They discussed anything but work.


	11. It's A Trap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking care of Zia, done from Reyes' point of view.

As soon as Ryder provided the coordinates, he had gone to his shuttle and flown there. With no sign of the Pathfinder and her crew he stalked the perimeter of the building. There were crates strewn about, all open and empty surrounding a nondescript building in the middle of nowhere.

Reyes pulled his pistol and approached the door. Something didn’t feel right about this. He hoped Ryder would arrive soon. She was driving the Nomad and it would take a little time since she was coming from Spirit’s Ledge. He stood outside the door and debated. It wouldn’t be smart to just go in. Anyone could be in there and they may not be friendly. 

“Fuck it,” he breathed and punched the button to open the door. It opened to reveal...more crates. There was no sound as his eyes scanned the room. Stairs on the left led to a second floor. He moved in and swept the entire building, closing the door behind him. Ten minutes was all he needed to see there was no one here. He holstered his pistol and started going through crates.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed and was on what had to be the thirtieth crate when the door opened. Irritation bubbled up, as the entire thing seemed to be a fruitless endeavor. Someone was wasting his time, but why? He looked up to see Ryder, Cora and Peebee coming towards him. “It’s empty.”

“Maybe this was all just some elaborate trick to get you here.” Alyssa responded, looking around suspiciously.

“You mean, there was never any cargo?” 

A female voice broke in from the doorway. “Bravo. I knew you’d figure it out eventually.”

“Zia,” he spat as she sauntered over to them. Reyes worked hard to keep his emotions under control. He should have realized that she would have been behind this. She had warned him when he had rejected her.

“You never could resist a big payout.”

“What can I say? I’m a greedy man.”

“That’s why you don’t have any friends. You’re selfish.”

“Reyes is a better man than you think.” Ryder suddenly broke in. 

He was stunned silent and had nothing to say. One sentence made him guilty and filled with desire all at the same time.

“Oh, honey. You’ve no idea how wrong you are. But you will.”

“Leave her out of this,” Reyes growled, and he clenched his fists, bringing his mind back to the matter at hand. Ryder was now in danger because of him. It was unacceptable and Zia was going to regret this.

Zia laughed. “You must really like this one, Reyes. Is she why you blew me off?”

“Cut the shit. What’s all this about?” 

“You’ve been taking all the good jobs in Kadara. It’s gotten more than  _ my _ attention.”

“So what? The local smuggling union got together and decided to take me down?” He knew the other smugglers weren’t fond of him, but this was ridiculous.

“Something like that.” Zia reached behind her back and pulled out a gun.

Reyes put his right hand over his eyes. “Shit.”

Zia barked an order and chaos erupted. Cora and Peebee teamed up and released a huge biotic charge. Zia was tossed across the room like a rag doll. Everyone dove for cover.

“You certainly know how to pick them,” Alyssa commented softly.

While she had the right of it, he was shocked that she made the comment. A slight blush crept up her neck as she realized that he had heard her. Guilt, anger and even some hope flooded him. She wasn’t wrong. He seemed to attract crazy at times. Zia had also hit the nail on the head with her flippant comment about him liking Ryder. It was an uncomfortable truth.

Reyes pulled his pistol and stood up. This was going to end now. He jumped over the crate and located Zia. She was across the room. He made a beeline straight for her. There were a couple people that tried to stop him, but he ended them quickly. He had modified his pistol and used special bullets that ripped through any shields. She was the only thing that he could see, the only person in the room that mattered. Everything else fell away. 

Zia had regained her feet and saw him coming. He held his pistol out at her with his left hand and pulled a concealed knife with his right from his flight suit. Zia took a shot at him and he let his shields take the hit. As he closed the distance fear appeared on her face.

“Reyes, we can talk about this.”

“No more talking, Zia,” he growled as he reached her. His left arm dropped and the right came up with the knife. He jammed it home in her neck and ripped it out. A gout of blood shot out, he had hit the artery. It was impressive how far it gushed, hitting a wall. She gagged and he stepped back as she dropped, grabbing at her neck and trying to stem the flow. It would be just a matter of minutes before she bled out. She looked up at him and he watched as the blood pooled on the floor around her head. His anger sated, he watched impassively as the light left her eyes.

He came back to himself, wiped the knife on his flight suit and returned it to its sheath before turning to face Ryder. She had a look on her face he didn’t want to see when it came to him, ever. It was fear.

“I knew I wasn’t going to win any popularity contests, but didn’t think the other smugglers would team up against me. Kind of flattering actually.” He fell back into the charming smuggler, it was a defense mechanism and one that he fell into easily.

“They might try again.”

“You worried about me?” He asked with a chuckle. The fear left her eyes, and she quickly looked around the building before looking back to him. There was some anger there now.

“Reyes.” Her voice was a warning.

“Relax. They won’t get the jump on me again.” He sighed. “All that effort and no credits to show for it.”

“Not everything has to be about credits.”

“That’s true.” He did agree, but he wasn’t sure what good had really come of this. While he wouldn’t starve, this was a blow to his bottom line. He was also on the edge of a knife and needed the Pathfinder on his side against Sloane. While things seemed better after her initial reaction, he would need to make sure things were good between them. Ryder led the way from the building, and he followed her. 

Cora and Peebee headed to the Nomad at a nod from her.

Reyes stopped walking, wanting to say something. “What you said back there...about me being a better man. Thank you.”

She turned and looked at him, with some surprise at his words. “You’re welcome.”

He smiled, perhaps one of the most sincere he had ever given someone before turning back to the building. He sighed in resignation. “I should clean up this mess. Zia was a piece of work, but it feels wrong to leave her out in the open.”

“Do you want some help?” 

He could tell she was asking to be polite. She didn’t actually want to help him and he couldn’t really blame her. He stared at her, trying to gauge her reasons. “Don’t worry about it. I can handle it myself. Go kick ass, Ryder. And….thanks again.”

She smiled and turned away. He wanted to say more, to get her to stay, but there was cleanup here to be done. Bizarrely he suddenly felt like he may have a chance with the Pathfinder. She got into the Nomad and sped off with her team. The vehicle disappeared and he got on the comms.

“I’m in need of assistance with cleanup. Coordinates to follow.”

He would need to check Zia’s communications and see who else was in on this little coup. Their lives were forfeit


	12. Not So Subtle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Discussing events after turning on the vault.

They had made it through another vault and purification. The vault had been bigger than the others. By the time they had exited, it was dark. They made the decision to bunk down in the entryway and use Zap as a guard from anyone or anything in the area. They grabbed the supplies from the Nomad and had a light dinner. Now that they had down time, Alyssa used the two as sounding boards about her feelings about the Collective.

“So the Collective seemed to know you would eventually locate the base?” Cora asked.

“It was the weirdest thing. I have no idea who the Charlatan is, yet they seem to know a lot about us,” she was still bothered by the entire incident.

“Well, what are your thoughts about them?” Peebee was gnawing on a piece of jerky.

“They seem more reasonable than Sloane.”

“Maybe that is what they want you to believe.” Cora crossed her arms.

“A rabid adhi is more reasonable than Sloane.” Peebee put in.

Alyssa snickered. That was certainly the truth. They had all seen Sloane’s treatment of people who weren’t Outcasts. It was abhorrent to all of them.

“Drack did say people were scared to go against the Charlatan’s orders and that girl did kill herself so she wouldn’t have to face the music. Crux certainly didn’t seem to like asking us for help, but did anyway.”

They fell back into a brief silence of thought.

“So,” Peebee started. “Reyes.”

“Yeah, what’s going on with Reyes?” Cora asked.

“Nothing!”

Peebee snorted. “Maybe nothing right now.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh come on, Ryder.” Cora prodded.

“What?”

“He _is_ pretty hot.” Peebee responded before Cora could say anything.

“You totally stuck up for him back there.” Cora pretended that Peebee hadn’t put her two cents in.

“Well, I mean, what was I supposed to do? He has really gone out of his way to help us. And Peebee, don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

“Truth comes out!” Peebee yelled. She and Cora laughed.

She could feel herself turning red and was happy the room was reasonably dark. “Just because he’s good-looking doesn’t mean anything is going to happen.”

“Pfft.” was Peebee’s response. “You can try to lie to us, but we’re totally not going to believe you.”

“It seems pretty obvious he’s into you.” Cora stated.

“He’s totally not.”

It was Cora’s turn to snort.

Peebee shook her head. “He is. How can you not tell? Or are you just being belligerent?”

“I’m not belligerent.”

“You are. That is definitely something you got from your father.” Cora said.

“Can we just not discuss this? I think maybe we should get some sleep.” She laid down and put her back to the two. She heard some sighing and then some whispering between them and then rustling as they settled down.

While waiting for sleep to come SAM informed her that a message had arrived from Reyes. She carefully opened it on her omnitool and read it over.

The subject was simply, About Zia.

_In case you were wondering…_

_My taste in women has improved since I ended things with her._

_Reyes_

She was in the midst of an internal debate about responding when giggling erupted right behind her. Rolling to her back revealed Peebee peering over her side. Cora was now sitting up as well.

“I knew it!” Peebee cackled. “He’s totally got a thing for you!”

“What? How do you know?” Cora asked.

Peebee was rolling around on the floor, practically in tears. “You should see the email she got from him!”

Cora was crawling over in a heartbeat. “What? Let me see!”

Alyssa jerked her arm away and shut down the omni-tool. “Absolutely not!”

“Come on, Ryder! You know Peebee is going to tell me anyway! Along with everyone else on the ship!”

That was a valid argument. She was never, ever going to live this down. The Pathfinder and an exile. She could already hear the reactions. Shooting a nasty glance at Peebee she held her arm out and brought the message up. Cora scanned it and raised her eyebrows. Peebee had gotten some control over herself as well and gave it a proper re-read.

“So, that Zia chick was an ex then?” Peebee asked.

Alyssa ran a hand through her hair and then rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah.”

“Did he use us to get back at an ex?” Cora was suddenly angry.

“No, and honestly it seemed that he was led into a trap anyway by said ex. So, it was a good thing we were there to help.”

“Seriously Ryder, this guy isn’t someone that I think you should be involved with.” Cora was going into full on mother hen mode.

“Lighten up, Cora.” Peebee chastised. “Lys is an adult. She’ll be with who she wants. Right Lys?”

Alyssa could feel her face burning in embarrassment. It really wouldn’t look good for her to be with an exile and smuggler. “Well...I…”

“Lys!” Peebee scolded.

“Peebee, this is bigger than Lys. She’s the face of the whole Initiative right now. They might question her ability to be a leader if she is with him.” Cora was expressing the exact thoughts.

“That shit shouldn’t matter at all.”

“Well, it does.”

“Look guys, there’s no need to fight about this. Nothing is happening right now anyway. And even if it did, it isn’t like it would be serious, right? He probably doesn’t do serious.”

The two stopped arguing for a moment and looked at her. They both apologized at the exact same time.

“You deserve better anyway.” Peebee stated. “I mean, he’s hot and all, but you deserve someone who will treat you better than just a fuck buddy.”

“I think hell is freezing over, because I agree with Peebee again.”

“That’s twice in one day, Harper.” Peebee nudged her. “I think this means we might be best friends or something now.”

Alyssa giggled at Cora’s derisive snort in response.

They all settled down again to try to get some sleep and Alyssa closed out the message.

 

The next morning, they got up and she went over the water that was near the entrance. It looked clean and inviting.

“SAM, thoughts on the water?”

“I would not recommend drinking it, but it is safe to swim in.”

That was all she needed to hear. She shed her armor and jumped in. It was warm, like bath water, but still refreshing. There were protests from Cora, but then she heard a splash and sputtering. She turned to see that Peebee had pushed Cora in. The asari then jumped in, with all her clothes on. She found herself laughing at Cora’s predicament. Eventually the huntress calmed down and enjoyed herself.

It had been so long since she had been able to take a dip, this was a nice break. She almost felt like she could settle down on Kadara. It was the best of the planets she had been on and that wasn’t because of a certain smuggler. Eos was too dry and Voeld was entirely too cold. Aya was nice, but she wasn’t sure she would want to live there, especially knowing that turns were taken living there since there wasn’t much room.

Eventually, they got out of the water and she and Peebee tried to dry themselves off as much as possible.

“So, is it weird that I feel a really strong connection to Reyes even though I hardly know him?” She had been thinking about the question for a while, and was almost too scared to ask it.

Cora and Peebee stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

“Like a romantic type connection?” Peebee asked carefully.

Alyssa shrugged. “I just feel like we have some sort of deep connection. Like I’ve known him a while and like he just gets me or something. I know it probably sounds stupid.”

Cora was shaking her head. “It doesn’t sound stupid.”

It looked like she was going to say more, but one look at Peebee and she shut down. It was likely something far too personal that she didn’t want Peebee to know.

Alyssa finished putting her armor on and they hopped back into the Nomad and headed off to get more things done in the badlands.


	13. Too Many Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reyes and Keema meeting up

Reyes had been pleased to know that his orders had been followed to a T. He knew that Crux hadn’t been fond of it, but even she ended up grudgingly admitting that the Pathfinder had ferreted out Dorado with surprising efficiency. Keema had been questioning the wisdom of allowing the Pathfinder access to the base, but had been pleased that everything had worked out.

He had been meeting separately with his lieutenants at Tartarus since the Roekaar mission. They’d been providing updates in person since Sloane had been working to hijack the comm signals. There was worry she had succeeded as Outcasts had attacked Collective agents on missions. He did like to have people face to face too, it was often easier to tell if they were lying.

Since Zia’s demise he had the word put out through specific channels that she and her crew were dead. There had been no further attempts on his life by the “smuggler’s union”. He had other people keeping a discreet eye on the Pathfinder and her team as well. It was surprising how quickly changes had taken place after she had jump started the vault. The water was already clearing up. It would still take some time before it was fully clean, but it was now easier to filter and people had actually been swimming in the pools.

He was outside Tartarus waiting on Keema. They’d normally not meet there, but things were getting a little crazy up top. He had heard that Sloane wasn’t pleased with the changes going on with the planet over the past couple of days.

He leaned over the railing and was looking out at the badlands beyond the fence. There was metallic groaning as the lift was coming down. It was likely Keema. He was looking forward to speaking with her. It had been a week since they had last touched base, but he hadn’t actually seen her in a few weeks. She was still pressuring him about the party that Sloane would be throwing, and that was coming up quickly, just a few weeks away. He wondered with the buzz about the vault if she’d hold off on the party.

He looked over as the lift settled. A single rider exited. As they started walking towards the buildings, there was a roar from outside the fence. The Nomad screeched to a halt near the forward station that had been set up outside. He saw the doors open and four people stepped out and headed towards the building to get back in. They were inside the slums in no time. It was Alyssa, Cora and Peebee. He didn’t know who the fourth was, it was a woman, but she wasn’t part of the team. Ryder had an arm around the woman and seemed to be comforting her. He wasn’t sure what this was all about. Another job he supposed.

He frowned. Of course, she would come back when he was too busy to pull her aside. She hadn’t responded to the e-mail he had sent after their last mission. It had been one that he had written and rewritten several times. He hoped it was enough to keep her on his side and maybe even give her a hint of his own feelings, which he was still working to reconcile.  

A bit of his time was taken up by trying to spend as much time with her as possible since her arrival. He always tried to make it about business, but it was getting harder and harder to come up with business reasons. It was always better when she showed up at his door. He turned towards the stairs and moved over to them as Keema was coming up. The angara managed to look graceful doing anything, it was a gift she had.

He stopped at the top, crossed his arms and smiled down at her. She looked up and returned it.

“Reyes Vidal.” she greeted as she hit the top step.

“Keema.” Reyes uncrossed his arms and they started towards the upper door to Tartarus. He did turn once and saw the Pathfinder’s small party near the lift. She wouldn’t be stopping by. Too much going on.

Keema smiled as they walked towards the club. “You’ve been spending a bit of time with the Pathfinder these past few weeks.”

“Business.”

“While I would normally agree….I don’t believe it this time. At least not fully.”

“What makes you say that, Keema dear?” 

“You get a certain look in your eyes when you speak about her. And you’ve been talking about her quite a lot recently.” 

He thought for a moment of how best to respond as they entered his private room. Keema was correct. Damn her for being so perceptive. She was the only one who could see through him. “She’s a spectacular woman,” he finally admitted.

Keema smiled and her eyes sparkled. “Reyes Vidal, a man in love.”

“I wouldn’t say that. I hardly know her.”

“That isn’t what I’ve heard. She’s been to Tartarus quite a few times now and has stayed for conversation. You two have been doing a great deal of talking. There are rumors swirling that more than talking is going on. Have you told her?”

“Told her what?” The doors closed behind them. He gritted his teeth and ignored the implications of people discussing who he was sleeping with. He also decided not to respond to that particular barb.

“About who you are.”

“No. She wouldn’t view me the same. It would end before it even began. I can’t drag her into this any further than she already is. If she were to say anything to the wrong person...”

“Change that. Tell her how you feel.”

“Yes because the Pathfinder is going to find a place in her heart for a criminal and exile.” He sat down heavily on the bench. Keema gracefully sat down beside him.

He locked the door so that they wouldn’t be disturbed. Keema put both her arms on the back and crossed her legs. Reyes handed her a drink that had been delivered earlier.

“What do you have for me, Keema?” He worked to change the conversation. “Everything is falling into place on my end. What about with you?”

“Sloane is reacting as predictably as ever. She is allowing the Pathfinder to remain, but is seething. With the first meeting not going well and all the waves she’s making in the port, it’s got her on edge. Even though there was nothing to tie it back, she is positive the Pathfinder had something to do with Vehn’s breakout. The timing is a little too close. She accused her as much at one point. ” Keema put her fingers in front of her lips briefly.

Reyes smiled. “Sloane won’t come back around to her to offer anything. Is she planning to do anything about the breakout? Move against Ryder at all?”

“Not as far as I’ve heard yet. You are putting a lot of faith that the Pathfinder will play into your hands exactly as you want.”

“Keema, you don’t trust me?”

“Trust only goes so far with you, Reyes Vidal.”

He tsked. “You know enough about me that if you went to Sloane you know my head would be on a spike to prove a point. If anyone here is being trusting, it’s me.”

“You just keep your end of the bargain and we won’t have an issue.”

“Believe me, with everything coming together the way it is, I anticipate us both being very pleased with the end results.”

“I’m counting on that. How do you plan to keep the Pathfinder on course?” 

“I’ve been appealing to her altruism.”

Keema cocked her head slightly to the left. Sometimes certain words didn’t translate.

“She cares about people. I’ll use that to keep her in line. Point her in one direction and show how Sloane is doing nothing, or compounding the suffering of others and she’s off to solve the problem. I followed her a little after our first meeting, it’s almost as if she attracts people looking for help.”

“I had thought you’d be using your charming wit and good looks to seduce her.” She sipped demurely at her drink and watched him.

He shrugged. The thought had crossed his mind, a few times, but not to get her on his side. “If that is necessary.”

“Reyes Vidal. Not using what you consider to be one of your more potent weapons?” 

“If needed, I will.” he shrugged.

Keema was quiet for a moment and appeared to be scrutinizing him. “You really do like her.”

He reflected on everything that had happened to bring them together and allow her to make observations about his personal life that he’d never allow anyone else to get away with. Keema was the only person he allowed to get even remotely close. They had saved each other when he had first arrived on Kadara and had been close friends, or more akin to family ever since. She wasn’t wrong, but he responded carefully. “Who wouldn’t like her? She’s charismatic.”

Keema smiled. “It’s more than that.”

“Keema,” he smiled, “you don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Tell me about her. I only know what I saw in brief meetings with Sloane, which has been someone asking to be shot.”

“She really cares. Maybe a little too much. She wasn’t anything that I had anticipated from reading the file. She has a wicked sense of humor.”

“They mostly aren’t like the files or stories one ever reads or hears. Those things only show one side.”

“Ryder is impressive. She’s done a lot since becoming Pathfinder that deserves respect.”

Keema smiled again and he didn’t like it. It meant the wheels in her head were spinning. He wondered if he had said too much. “I would like to meet her.”

“Perhaps once everything is done.”

“I have faith in you, Reyes Vidal. I look forward to meeting the girl that you like. Are you coming to the party?”

She would ask that question. “I will be there.”

“Have you asked the Pathfinder to be your plus one?”

“I wasn’t planning to bring a plus one.”

“Stars above, Reyes. I got you a plus one so I could meet your Pathfinder.”

Reyes snickered. “I’m sure Sloane would  _ love _ to see me and Ryder there. Two of her favorite people.”

“Let me worry about that. You must ask her. I need to meet this woman that has stolen your heart. Aside from that, Sloane has a bottle of whiskey I think you’d be interested in and I’m sure that your Pathfinder would be the perfect way to deflect attention away from you grabbing it right from under Sloane’s nose.”

He perked up at that. “Oh?”

“A recent acquisition. A Mount Milgrom?”

He almost drooled at the thought. “Oh my. That  _ would _ be worth grabbing. I’ll ask her.”

Keema smiled, knowing she had won this battle.


	14. A Change of Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick, fun chapter about Alyssa buying Popcorn.

The next morning Reyes woke up early and got himself ready to head down to Tartarus. Thoughts of Ryder and what she was doing and if he would have a chance to spend any time with her were dancing through his head. An internal debate was raging on how and when to ask her about the party.

He stepped outside and started walking to the marketplace. It was going to be another scorcher of a day. He was lost in thought while wandering through the market. There was a whole list of things he needed to get done. It promptly disappeared when he saw the Pathfinder. She was at one of the merchant stalls and arguing with the salarian behind the counter. He wandered over and once close enough could hear what was going on.

“I can’t believe you want to charge me that outrageous price for graxxon and popcorn.”

“I have mouths to feed. Your price is insulting. I’d be happy to accept 100 credits.”

“You’re insulting me by lying about having mouths to feed. 100 credits?? That is an insane price, sir. 50.” She had her hands on the counter and was leaning forward.

The salarian scoffed, “You have nowhere else to go to find this. 75.”

He smiled as they went back and forth and decided to step in. “I’ll pay 75.”

Ryder turned, and her mouth was set in a hard line, ready to give him hell. When she saw it was him everything softened and a slight smile appeared. Before she could say anything, the salarian handed Reyes the goods and he transferred the credits. With a smile of his own he backed away and turned to the docks.

She followed him without question. “I should’ve known you’d swoop in to steal my things.”

He laughed and handed her the items. “I couldn’t stand to see you two go back and forth anymore.”

She grinned at him. “How long were you standing there watching?”

“Long enough. What are you buying these things for, anyway?” 

She ran her fingers through her hair. He had observed her enough to know it was a nervous habit. “Liam is planning a movie night for the crew. We’ve been working so much and under such constant stress he figured it would be good for morale. Just sit back and relax. So everyone has been putting in suggestions for things that we need. Vetra suggested popcorn and graxxon. She knew that we’d be able to find it here. So here I am, arguing with vendors and then having it bought out from under me.”

“It all worked out in the end, since I’m such a generous person.”

She snorted. “I had no idea smugglers were known for charity.”

“Only me.”

“You’re one in a million I suppose then?”

He smiled. “Ryder I need to ask you something.”

She looked up at him and the question about the party got caught in his throat.

The silence was broken by SAM. 

“Ryder, there’s an urgent message that has come through for you,” the AI intoned. “You should return to the Tempest immediately. It is about your brother.”

Her demeanor changed instantaneously. She straightened and stiffened. “I’ll be right there, SAM.” She turned to him. “I’m sorry to have to cut this short. I’ll talk to you later and you can ask me whatever it was you were going to.”

“Duty calls.” He lamely responded.

She smiled and trotted off towards the docks. He watched her go with a mixture of regret and relief. There had been a sudden fear that she might say no to him and he didn’t want to deal with that. Spending time with her would have also taken up time he really didn’t have, but he still wanted to. He continued to the docks and was there in time to see the Tempest take flight. He frowned. Something big must have happened with her brother. He’d need to put out feelers to see what was going on. Her going off planet could cause all plans to change.

The ride down to the slums was uneventful. Ignoring the worst of what was going on down there, but remaining aware enough to stop any possible move against him, he made his way to Tartarus. He stopped to see Kian before heading up. Nothing of note was going on so he went up to wait for his first meeting of the day.


	15. Celebratory Drinks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reyes finally asks Alyssa to Sloane's party.

He smiled as he read the most recent e-mail from Alyssa. She had, in the course of their e-mails back and forth revealed that her brother had come out of the coma. That had been the reason they had left in such a hurry almost three weeks ago now. The party was coming up fast and he had yet to actually ask her to accompany him. It never seemed the right time. Keema was consistently on his case about it now.

They had been busy while off planet. She had spent about a week on the Nexus with her brother and then had gone and gotten things done elsewhere. He thought about how to respond to this and decided that perhaps it would just be better to actually reach out via a vidcall and finally ask her.

He set up the system and then spent a few minutes trying to figure out what he wanted to say. Once his thoughts were together as best they were going to be, he hit the button.

It seemed like forever before she was in front of him, a blue angel.

“Ryder! I was just thinking about you.” He grinned, hoping it looked natural and confident. He certainly wasn’t feeling it.

“I’d love to hear more, but this isn’t a private channel.” She grinned right back at him.

“I could tell you over drinks. Sloane’s holding a get-together for the locals. I managed to snag an invite. Care to be my plus-one?”

Ryder was silent for a moment. He almost held his breath waiting for her response. Had he completely misread all the cues whenever they had been together? He was starting to try to think of something to salvage the situation.

“Are...you asking me out?” Her voice broke through his jumbled thoughts.

“I promise to be a perfect gentleman.” He heard himself say, suave as can be. It felt as if he was on auto right now.

“I’d never say no to free drinks.”

“Especially from Sloane’s reserve. I’ll meet you outside Outcast HQ. The party is in a week.”

There was a smile. “See you then.”

The call ended and he let out a shaky breath. He had a date to the ball now. Keema would be pleased. Speaking of that particular devil, he realized that he was going to be late to meet up with her in Kralla’s. He put the equipment away and hurried out of Tartarus and up into the port proper.

Umi’s bar was busy tonight. She had windows which let in plenty of air and more people wanted to enjoy it now that it was fresher. He walked down the stairs and into the bar area. Reyes scanned the room and eventually found Keema. She was by the windows and had gotten a table in the corner. She was a known associate of the Outcasts and was afforded some respect because of that. A bottle of whiskey was already on the table and she was sipping at a drink of her own and looking out a window. The sun was almost gone and the sky was beautiful.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”

Keema turned quickly and smiled up at him. “Not that long.”

He took the seat and poured himself a glass and then took a swig and poured a second. “Good.”

“Have you asked her?”

Of course that would be her first question. “You’ll be pleased to know I did.”

Keema’s eyes widened. “And?”

“She’ll be joining me. They’ll be back on Kadara soon.”

Keema lifted her glass. “I think a toast is in order.”

He smiled and lifted his own. Keema had picked up a lot of things from humans over the time they’d been on Kadara. “I’ll drink to that.”

“To you and your Pathfinder. May the night of the party be magical.”

He smiled and they clinked glasses. Keema was hoping for a lot out of the party. Of course, she knew how much he truly liked Alyssa and his hopes that she felt the same for him. He still didn’t think anything real could come of it, there were too many things that would get in the way. Reyes wouldn’t rain on Keema’s parade though. On top of that, it was nice to hope that perhaps something would come of it. At times her optimism was infectious and she was in rare form tonight. He couldn’t help but feel better about everything. Everything was coming together overall.

He went well past three drinks as he wasn’t on the clock and just enjoying the evening. Keema was three sheets to the wind by the time he finished his own bottle. It was time to get her back home and then head off himself. For once, he felt like he would have a good night’s sleep.

He stood up. The room spun slightly, but he felt that he’d be able to handle it. He grabbed Keema and pulled her up. For a moment it seemed they might both fall over but he managed to keep himself and Keema upright. He staggered them out into the night air of the market.

Reyes managed to get Keema to her apartment before moving on to his own. It seemed like it took forever, but he found his place, got inside and collapsed onto the bed.


	16. A Promise Made

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reyes meets up with Alyssa at Sloane's party and then leaves.

Reyes was on his way to Outcast HQ from his apartment. It had taken a little time to get ready as his hair had been difficult to wrangle. This evening was something he had been looking forward to and had ended up keeping his schedule free for the entire day. Not wanting to be too early, he was taking a leisurely stroll through the marketplace, hoping to see Alyssa. The Tempest had landed earlier in the day, but there had been no sign of her crew. 

The market was still busy, even with the party going on. Sloane made sure any party’s list was well vetted and no one she didn’t want would get in. Keema was his saving grace as Sloane wasn’t a fan of his and definitely not of Alyssa, hence the plus one.

He passed some guards who looked at him. He winked at a couple and smiled. One nodded in return. Once inside, he hung a right and passed the room that Sloane kept supplies in. The doors were open for once. A couple of guards were in there grabbing things to bring to the party for the guests. He took as long a look as he dared.

Down the stairs he saw the doorman with a tablet. Standing in front of him was an irritated looking Alyssa. This was obvious even though her back was to him. Her stance said everything, but it clearly didn’t impress the man in front of her. Reyes smiled and walked silently down the stairs. He took her in from behind. Black jacket, white pants and it looked as if she may have actually done something with her hair. It had a wave to it. 

“I’m the human Pathfinder, kind of a big deal,” she was saying.

The guard looked at her with one good eye and an expression that clearly showed he didn’t care. She was practically shaking with anger at this point. Reyes moved up and put his left hand at the small of her back. “She’s with me. Reyes Vidal.”

She turned to him and there was a flush to her face. It was difficult to tell if it was from his touch or her irritation.  He smiled and turned his attention back to the guard.

The doorman checked his board and simply stated, “Go on in.”

Reyes guided her gently around the man, who ignored the nasty look she shot him. Perhaps he couldn’t see it as they were on the side with the bad eye. He removed his hand as the doors opened and they walked into the throne room. It was crowded, but not claustrophobic. He looked down at Alyssa and was going to say something when a certain someone sauntered up to them.

“Reyes Vidal. I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show.” Keema chastised. It was obvious she had been eyeing the door.

“Remember what I said about ‘fashionably late’?”

“Shush. Introduce me to your companion.” She turned a warm smile on Ryder.

“Pathfinder. Meet Keema Dohrgun, the Angaran representative to Sloane.” He paused briefly before adding, “And a friend.”

“I didn’t think Reyes had friends. Only contacts and colleagues.” 

Reyes raised an eyebrow at Alyssa as she gave him a side glance.

“Oh, I’m those as well.” Keema responded with a laugh. “Who do you think secured him an invitation to this event? I was hoping he’d bring you. You’re all he talks about lately. He likes you.” Someone walked by with a tray of drinks. In one fluid motion Keema grabbed one and handed it to Ryder.

Alyssa had a look of surprise on her face as she asked, “Is that so?”

Reyes shuffled a bit, feeling embarrassed that Keema would be so forward. She meant well, but the openness with which the angarans dealt with their feelings still remained foreign to him. Suddenly wanting to escape, he cleared his throat and said, “Sorry to cut this short, but I need to take care of something.”

“Abandoning me already?”

“Not for long. There are important players here tonight. Mingle. Make a good impression.”

“You treat all your dates this way or am I special?”

“I’ll make it up to you. Promise.” Before Alyssa could say anything more, he walked away. If she continued to give him that wounded face he would cave and there would be nothing for later.

He made his way around the room a bit before making his way back out the door. The doorman was no longer around, which was one item in his favor. The next was that the doors to the supply room were still open and no one was in there either. He scanned the hallways behind him before stepping into the room. He wouldn’t have long, so he’d need to make every minute count.

Little did he know it wasn’t going to be easy to find exactly what he was looking for.


	17. Standing Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party once Reyes has taken his leave.

“And there he goes.” Keema commented and took a drink. Alyssa looked back to the woman. She was a lovely shade of blue, almost a light purple at times. Her eyes were particularly cat-like and were full of curiosity.

“Any idea what he’s up to?”

“It’s better not to worry about what Reyes does. Do enjoy the party and come talk to me later.” Keema smiled at someone on the other side of the room and walked off, leaving her to her own devices.

She found herself alone at a party he wasn’t invited to, with people who would just as soon stab her than speak with her. A sigh escaped as she looked around the room. Her eyes stopped at a familiar face behind the bar. A drink would be a good thing to have.

She walked over and leaned on the bar on her right arm. “I’m a little surprised to see you here, Umi. Who’s holding down the fort?”

“Someone I happen to trust. What brings you here?”

“Looking for a good drink.”

Umi rolled her eyes, knowing Alyssa had avoided answering her real question. She then smirked as she asked, “What’s the name of my bar?”

“What?”

“You want a drink, answer the question.” She put both hands on the bar and leaned forward.

“Kralla’s Song.”

“Hmph.” Umi prepared and handed over a drink. She gulped it down. 

“How about another?”

“Hope you’re ready for round two. How do I serve whiskey?”

“Why are we playing 20 questions?” Alyssa narrowed her eyes at the asari.

“Because I’m bored and you’re thirsty.”

Alyssa suppressed a sigh and responded, “Neat.”

“I’m almost impressed.” Umi handed over another drink, which was gone as fast and the first. If Reyes was going to abandon her, she was going to at least get a few drinks in before getting kicked out.

“How about another?”

“Final question. Want to be a test subject? I’ve got a new drink. Angaran wine mixed with ryncol. Need to know if it’s safe for humans. You in?”

“Hit me with your best shot!” With a couple drinks her, she was feeling a little sassy.

“You’re the worst. You know that right?” Umi was smiling as she said it though. She poured the two drinks into mixing glass, put the top on and shook it vigorously. She then poured a small amount into a glass and slid it over.

“Bottoms up!” Alyssa grabbed the cup and downed the shot.

“Still standing. Success.”

She wasn’t sure how much of a success, as Umi’s face went blurry and then everything went black. 

“Shit, shit, shit!” Someone was yelling as she came to consciousness.

The ceiling was all that was in her vision and she found that she was on the floor, with no memory of how she got there. She shook her head and sat up. At least things weren’t blurry now, but she seemed to recall dancing on a table? She prayed that hadn’t actually happened. It was tough to tell though. No one seemed to be paying her any mind, which could be good or bad. Still no sign of Reyes and after that last drink, she was going to shut herself off for the rest of the party. 

“Pathfinder, I would not suggest drinking that concoction again. It took me some time to purge it from your system. Luckily, there was no lasting damage.”

“Thanks SAM.”

She decided to take Reyes’ earlier advice and mingle. Sloane was the first she tried, as even though she didn’t like the woman, she felt that she had to keep trying. The woman rudely rebuffed her, which was not terribly shocking. Alyssa moved on to find someone less cranky and found a turian fretting over a mistake with a woman. Someone who was worse off than she was at the moment was something she could handle. After managing to convince him to go talk his spurned date she felt a bit better. She watched from a distance as the two talked and appeared to reconcile. Scanning the room for Reyes revealed nothing and the feeling of defeat was kicking in. Despite the commentary that he liked her, his actions said otherwise. Maybe it was time to give up.

Keema broke into her field of vision, and she decided to chat her up before leaving.

“Good to see you again, Pathfinder.” Keema’s face lit up. “I hope you’re enjoying the party.”

“As much as can be expected after being ditched.” She switched gears, not wanting to mope, “I hope these pirates haven’t given you a bad view of my people.”

Keema laughed. “Don’t worry. I judge individuals, not groups. You for example. I like you. Not sure about who you work for, but I’ve learned to keep my options open.”

“You never know who might end up in charge.”

“Exactly.” 

They spoke a few minutes about Keema’s responsibilities and if she was part of the resistance. The woman was intriguing. She was wearing a simple outfit, but exuded confidence and even a sexiness that she had always wanted. 

“I wasn’t dancing on any tables earlier was I?” 

An odd look from Keema prompted a subject change, “How did you meet Reyes and become friends?”

“That is a bit of a long story. I’ll keep it short and sweet and say the only way anyone meets Reyes Vidal - through business. His skills are very valuable in Kadara Port. As to friends, we’re more like family.”

The answer was curious and brought to mind even more questions that she squashed.

“Have you seen him?” She hoped she didn’t sound too desperate.

“No, but I’m sure he’ll be back soon. He likes you.” She smiled at Ryder. 

“Oh yeah. That’s why he ditched me at a party  _ he _ invited me to.” The bitterness in her voice was shocking.

“The thing about Reyes is he always has a good reason. You’ll see.”

She wasn’t sure if that statement made her feel any better. She sighed. “Nice talking to you, Keema.”

“Likewise, Pathfinder.”

It was time to find Reyes and head back to the ship. She needed to find out what in the fuck was going on. On the way out, she walked past Kaetus.

“One wrong move, and you’re out.”

“Have a beer, Kaetus. It’ll be good for your health.”

“I don’t drink on the job.”

“Clock out and live a little.”

“Just keep a low profile. Sloane’s already gonna give me hell.” He grumbled.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t in the best of moods, she didn’t mind Kaetus. He wasn’t that bad. He had been the one to approach her about taking out the remaining kett in the badlands.

It was cooler and quieter in the hall. “Reyes, where are you?” she muttered to no one in particular. 

SAM started to respond.

She cut him off. “That was a rhetorical question SAM. Means you don’t answer it.”

“Why do you allow him to affect you this way, Pathfinder?”

“Is that your version of a rhetorical question?”

“No, I am curious.”

She walked up the stairs, figuring that it was time to head out and not entirely sure how to answer the question. “I’ll let you know when I figure that out.”

A door to the left caught her attention as she heard someone rummaging around and muttering. Entering the room she found Reyes kneeling on the ground, looking through crates. “Damn it. Why can’t the serial numbers be in the same spot?”


	18. A Star Crossed Wasteland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After party fluff.

“‘Take the night off. Come out for a drink.’ Should’ve known you were up to something.”

The voice jerked him roughly from his search. He thought for a moment it might be a guard, but it was much worse than that. It was Alyssa. “Ryder! It’s not what it looks like.” He stood up and put his hands up. He knew exactly what this looked like. Anger radiated off her. 

“So you didn’t use me as a distraction to go through Sloane’s stuff?” She moved in close and poked at him with a finger. It would almost be comical if not for the hurt written on her face.

He sputtered. “Okay, yes. But it’s for both our benefit! I promise.”

“You’ve been making a lot of promises -”

The sound of footsteps coming distracted him from her accusations. “Shit - someone’s coming! We need a distraction!”

Her idea of a distraction caught him off guard. She moved in close, grabbed at his flight suit, pulled him in and began kissing him. The shock caused him to hesitate for a moment. His body’s response kicked in before his brain caught up, and he deepened the kiss. A groan escaped him when she responded. 

“Oh.” There was a sound of a throat clearing and then a mumbled, “Sorry.”

Footsteps receded. His entire body shrieked at him not to pull away, but he did when he felt they were safe. “I think we’re in the clear.”

“Maybe another kiss? To be sure.” Her eyes were shuttered, but then opened as he stepped back.

He chuckled, but he could feel the heat rising in his face, nevermind other parts. There was a bashfulness there as he responded, “Now you’re teasing me.”

She laughed a little, but the tension in the air was palpable.

Not knowing what to say or do, he turned and climbed a pile of crates so that there wouldn’t be so much awkward silence. He rooted around for a bit, before finally finding the treasure he was seeking. “Finally! Here it is.”

He jumped down from the crates with a bottle.

“That’s what this was all about? Whiskey?” 

“The only bottle of Mount Milgrom in Andromeda. Triple-distilled and 645 years old. This isn’t whiskey - it’s priceless treasure.” He cradled the bottle and stroked it a bit.

She crossed her arms. “I hope someone taught you that sharing is caring. That is about the only way you are getting out of this without me bitching at you.”

He looked up from the bottle and grinned. “We’ll see..Let’s get out of here.” Reyes grabbed her hand and started running off. His heart beat faster as she followed him. 

He held her hand as they weaved in and out of groups of people in the market. This was part of the plan, to bring her to a place that he was always able to go to clear his mind. 

He dragged her over to a ladder and began to climb. He glanced down only once and relief flood him seeing her coming up behind him. He pulled himself up onto the roof and leaned over to assist her. It would have been a perfect opportunity to pull her in and kiss her again, but he held himself in check. It was still a little unclear on whether the kiss had been a distraction or something more.

He walked to the edge with the best view and sat himself down and took out the bottle of whiskey. Alyssa settled herself down next to him, and gazed around in wonder. He opened the bottle, took a swig and handed the bottle over to her. They sat in silence for a bit before he thought of something to talk about.

“What is the food you miss the most, Ryder?” He started out with something small and simple.

She took a drink and handed it back. “Pizza. I have yet to see a pizza place here. We’re supposed to be an enlightened society, yet no one has thought to open a pizza shop on the Nexus or any of the outposts. We need to bring it to these aliens. Maybe if we had that, the first contact with the kett would have gone better. What about you?”

He couldn’t help but laugh. Thinking about the past was dangerous as there was a lot he didn’t want to remember. He eventually answered, “There was a dish that my parents made. A hearty stew with seven different meats. It was something they didn’t do often, but was always delicious.”

He took a long pull from the bottle and handed it back to her. She had shifted so that her back was to him as she looked over the port. The setting sun bathed everything in colors that reminded him of earth. Then there were the lights from all the buildings, the most notable from Outcast HQ.

“Gorgeous, isn’t it? I sometimes forget.” Reyes paused before asking, “Is Andromeda everything you hoped it would be?”

He didn’t look at her, and kept staring out into the port. Thoughts of all the things that had brought him here were swirling through his head. Most of it was bad, with a little good thrown in. Enough to keep him moving forward. He hadn’t thought about his life before the Initiative in some time. It made him more maudlin than he expected. 

Alyssa broke her own pause and responded, “I wasn’t expecting it to be as bad as it has been. With the first contact with the kett and being the only Pathfinder to pave the way for everyone. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen beautiful places and met wonderful people, but, I wasn’t supposed to be the Pathfinder. It’s been a tough time since I’ve been here. I’m scared I’ll let everyone down.” 

He wasn’t sure how to respond to her openness about her fears. It was easy to forget how young she actually was and this drove the point home. He was guilty of placing hope in her and adding to the weight on her shoulders, even if she didn’t realize it. In that moment he wanted to tell her everything, to come clean. He held back, still afraid of her reaction. Most of his life was based on lies and secrets. It kept people from getting to close and hurting him.

“Why did you come here, Reyes?” She leaned back and handed the bottle to him and watched as he took a drink. She turned back to the view.

“To be someone.” It was the truth, as much of it as he was willing to share now with her.

He heard her shifting next to him, but was looking off into the port. The next words took his breath away. “You’re someone to me.”

He looked at her in surprise. Without thinking much about it, he raised a hand to her cheek. Her eyes closed and he said, “I’m starting to think that kiss was more than a distraction.” 

He pulled her in close and kissed her. It was as good as the first time. Different, but still good. Her lips were full and soft on his. When he pulled away, it felt like they had been kissing forever, but it was still over too soon. All his doubts fell away. Everything felt so right with her. He didn’t know how something could feel so good with someone he barely knew. All he knew was that he wanted to be with her, no matter what. He studied her face and smiled. “I think I was right. It wasn’t just a distraction.”

“Is that good or bad?”

His response was to kiss her again. 

An arm snaked around his shoulders and pulled him in closer. She was dragging him to her, more than she realized. With such a simple movement, he was hers, body and soul. This both frightened and exhilarated him. He tentatively licked her lips and she opened her mouth, her own tongue meeting his. As their kiss deepened, he groaned. He put both his arms around her, pulling her closer. Their position was awkward, so he kept adjusting until she was straddling him. 

After some time He pulled away and leaned his forehead on hers. He kept his eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them he was looking directly into hers. “I told you I’d be a perfect gentleman. If we continue doing this, I don’t know that I can keep that promise.”

He was giving her an opportunity to put the skids on everything. The last thing he wanted was to have sex on a roof. It should be better for her. 

There was a lopsided grin on her face as she responded,“Well, I know you like the thrill of the chase. So, I’ll play a little harder to get. Need to keep some mystery.”

He grinned. “Let’s finish up this bottle and I’ll take you back to the Tempest.”

They enjoyed each other’s company for another half hour at least. It was the most enjoyable time he’d had in years. As promised, once they finished off the bottle, he brought her back to the ship.

Once on the lift, he grabbed her and kissed her. It was a moment before he pulled away and then he kissed the top of her head. “Until next time.”

She stepped away and off the lift, looking a little unsteady. He pressed the button and gazed at her as it lowered him back down. He leaned against the wall and let out a long breath.


	19. Prelude to Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just after the evening with Ryder.

His whole body was buzzing and it wasn’t from the whiskey, although that had been a damn fine bottle. One of a kind here, like Ryder. Finally sharing a kiss had been better than he imagined. He had done something with her he had never done with anyone, stopping things before they went too far. If she was any other woman, he would have bedded her and been done. But he had made the decision he wanted to wait for her. He’d wait for her forever if that was what it took. It needed to be something special, more than what he’d had before. She thought so much of him, he didn’t want to be a disappointment.

He had real hope for what lay ahead in the future now. It was an odd feeling. He made it back to his space, a one room, sparsely furnished apartment. If it could even be called that. It suited him fine, he didn’t spend much time here anyway. It was a place to rest his head. He kept it neat and had plenty of hidey holes for anything even remotely important.

His gloves off, he was preparing to undress when there was a knock at his door. It was late and he wasn’t expecting anyone. A knife was in his hand without conscious thought as he walked to the door. He opened it, prepared to stab the person on the other side. Until the door opened and revealed Keema. “I was hoping that I would catch you here.”

He smiled as he put the knife down. “Hello Keema.”

“Hello Reyes.”

She waltzed in as if she owned the room and he closed the door. “What brings you here?” 

“I wanted to see how things went. If you had screwed it up beyond repair.” She sat down in the one chair he had. He leaned against a wall.

“What have I screwed up?” 

“I like her a lot you know. She was upset when she left. I tried to reassure her, but sometimes you are just too…”

“Much of a scoundrel?” he finished. He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the right.

She sighed. “Well?”

“I made it up to her.”

A smile broke on Keema’s face before disappearing. “Don’t go messing this up, Reyes. She’s a nice girl. Not like the company you normally keep. Like Zia.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Have you told her?”

“Told her what?”

“About the Charlatan.”

“No.”

“Stars Above. You should.”

“I can’t.”

“You can and you should. Relationships are built on trust, Reyes. You should trust her so she can you.”

He sighed and crossed her arms over his chest. “I can’t right now.”

It was Keema’s turn to sigh. “You won’t have a choice eventually. You can either tell her now and control when she finds out, or have it blow up in your face. I like her, Reyes. Don’t fuck this up.” 

She stood up and moved close before passing him and walking to the door. He walked over behind her. “I’ll think about it.”

“You don’t have long. The plans are in motion. It is only a matter of time now. You should tell her.” With that, she left.

He sighed and settled down in bed.

Keema didn’t have any idea how right she was. He got a blip on his omni-tool shortly after she left. He pulled the message up. “Fuck.”

Some Outcasts decided they didn’t want to wait any longer and had beaten Kaetus to a pulp after the party. It wasn’t supposed to happen now. But they had already left the note and the barely living Turian had been discovered.

He pulled his clothing and armor back on. There wasn’t much time to get out to Draullir. Everything would happen tomorrow now. Sleep would need to wait.

There wouldn’t be time to explain anything to Ryder. Everything was on the edge of a knife now. He would have to worry about that after. He’d spill his guts to her once this was done and hoped she would understand. It wasn’t like she would be at the showdown anyway.


	20. High Noon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going to the meeting with Sloane.

Shortly after Ryder woke up SAM informed her that Sloane wanted to meet and that it was urgent. Things had been going so well this morning too. She was still glowing from her evening with Reyes. She had been hoping to spend some time with him, but depending on what Sloane wanted it might not happen.

This was not how she wanted to spend her day. If she wanted to a foothold on this planet, she would need to at least try to play nice with the Outcasts. There were still too many unanswered questions about the Collective. It was something her father would have done. She wanted to live up to his example. She quickly got ready to head to meet Sloane, wondering if it had anything to do with being at the party last night. Perhaps she knew about the missing whiskey?

She followed the Outcast that was sent to get her back to their HQ. The room was empty except for Sloane, who was perched on her throne, with one foot up and her arm resting on a knee.

Alyssa walked up to her. “Where is everybody?”

“I told them to get out of my sight.”

“What happened?” Pretending to care about this woman was difficult.

“The Charlatan used my own people to beat up Kaetus after the party. He’s alive. Barely.”

This news was disconcerting. What little she had worked with him, she liked the grizzled turian. “The Charlatan’s using Kaetus to put you on edge.”

“I know that. I didn’t call you here for a pity party,” the woman spat.

“Why  _ did _ you call me then?”

“The Charlatan left a note on Kaetus’ body. He wants to ‘settle things’ between us. Meeting spot is in Draullir.”

“Could be a trap.” She kept silent about the Collective hideout there. This was a trap for Sloane.

“You think? I can’t trust my own people, but you - you’re an outsider. And you’ve proven reasonable before.”

“The Charlatan’s had plenty of time to act. Why make a move now?” 

“I ignored the Collective for too long. Thought they were just another ragtag group of upstarts. Now they’re bold. And dangerous. What happened to Kaetus is on me. I’ve got to end this before it gets worse. You with me?”

Alyssa couldn’t believe this woman was actually asking her this. This day was getting better and better. She thought long and hard for a moment. It would behoove her to go with her and get this handled. People were worried about total war between the two groups. “I’ll watch your back.”

“Kadara’s fate will be decided at this meeting. I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but hey - shit happens, right? Meet me at this location. I’ll go on ahead.” She sent her the coordinates.

Alyssa gritted her teeth, nodded, turned and left. She ground her teeth all the way back to the Tempest. SAM had already had the team get back to the ship and into the meeting room. Everyone had an opinion on the subject once she told them what was going on. Most didn’t like the idea of working with Sloane, but all agreed that she should go and figure things out. Maybe, they could side with the Collective if they seemed the better option.

Vetra and Drack would go with her for this. The rest would stay in port or on the ship, ready to act with what ever happened. 

Drack and Vetra went back and forth on their way to the Nomad. Down in the slums, she glanced at Tartarus and wondered if Reyes was there. Muted music could be heard from the club, even now. A thought crossed her mind about checking in with him, but she had a feeling that he wasn’t there. She had an idea about who the Charlatan was, but she didn’t want to look at it too close, afraid of who she might see.

Once in the Nomad, she hauled ass to the meeting point. It still took them over an hour to get there. 

Sloane was waiting. “Took your sweet time.”

Alyssa was tempted to shoot her right here and be done with the entire thing. The constant attitude was more and more difficult to deal with. Ryder asked Vetra and Drack to keep an eye on things outside and she and Sloane entered the cave together.

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” Sloane didn’t seem pleased to be working with her either. At least she knew the feeling was mutual.

“I’m with you.” She tried to say it as naturally as she could, but her jaw was clenched. The prospect of having to continue to deal with this bitch was not a comforting thought. Keeping the fact that they were in Collective territory was also worrisome. While she had some sort of weird relationship with the group, being with Sloane wouldn’t be good. A thought of Reyes flashed through her brain with that niggling thought about who he might really be.

They walked deeper in the cave. They hit an area lit by a hole in the ceiling that let sunlight in. There was nothing else to see. No people, nothing.

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” She asked.

Then she heard a familiar voice and her heart leapt into her throat.


	21. The Sound of Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> High Noon and the immediate aftermath.

He was waiting in the darkness, behind a large boulder. Considering how he hadn’t initially expected to be here, he was calm and collected. This had been coming for a while. Even though the timeline was unexpectedly moved up this would still be done. He hoped that Alyssa was back at the port, perhaps still in the Tempest with her crew. That was shattered when her voice rang out in the cavern. That bitch had somehow managed to get Alyssa to come. Keema’s words now seemed prophetic from the night before. Shit was going to hit the fan.

Reyes closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself. He had been working towards this goal for too long. Come what may, he needed to move forward. He stepped out of the darkness. Alyssa and Sloane were standing in the middle of a pool of light.

“You look like you’re waiting for someone.” 

He heard the sharp inhale of breath and tried his damndest not to look at Alyssa. 

“I’m here for the Charlatan, not some third-rate smuggler.” Sloane was slow on the uptake.

“They’re one and the same.” Reyes replied as he held his arms out and jumped down off the ledge. “Surprise.”

“This whole time...you’ve been lying to me.” Ryder said.

He couldn’t stop himself from looking at her now. The thought was there to go to her and try to salvage this, to hell with Sloane. “Not the  _ whole _ time. You know who I really am.”

The look she gave him told him that she clearly thought otherwise. He dragged his eyes back to Sloane. Her accusing look was too much and he might break.

“You said you wanted to ‘settle things’. How?” Sloane cut in.

At least one thing was going right. Sloane was playing right into his hands. She had always been an easy fiddle to play. “A duel. You and me. Right now. Winner takes Kadara Port.”

Alyssa croaked out, “You want to avoid war by shooting each other?”

“Two people shooting each other is better than a lot of people shooting each other.” Reyes replied, still refusing to look at her.

“I’ll take those terms.”

With Sloane having accepted the terms, he saw Alyssa back off in his periphery vision. She had a dazed look on her face as they started circling. All he needed to do was get Sloane into position and hope like hell that Alyssa didn’t interfere. She probably already knew about the sniper with her high powered AI.

When Sloane was finally in the right spot, a shot rang out. Alyssa never moved from her position as Sloane collapsed to the ground. He finally dared to look at the Pathfinder and her face was blank. Reyes did not know what this would mean for them. The tyrant was dead now though and his plans could move along. He owned everything. It was what he wanted, but it was a hollow victory.

People were moving around him. The sniper came out from cover. Reyes turned and gave orders. There was no time to lose. “Get her out of here. Prepare the crew. Kadara Port is ours tonight.”

He started walking to the entrance of the cave. There was hesitation as he reached her. She hadn’t moved or spoken since the start of the duel. He was afraid to say anything, not wanting to hear her anger. 

After he had gone past her, there were footsteps behind him. “Guess you got everything you wanted.”

The words cut deep. Some of his men had stopped up ahead and were watching them. He waved them on. They obeyed like the good soldiers they were. He stopped and turned to Alyssa. Reyes was both angry and heartbroken at the same time. “What I wanted is peace. Sloane would’ve brought war to Heleus. We don't have the population to survive that.”

He began walking again. She followed him, and her next questions cut like a knife. “Why didn’t you trust me? Were you just using me this whole time?” 

He almost cringed at the desperation in her voice. The hurt was real and he couldn’t take anything back. Her questions made him stop and turn to her. His voice was pleading as he said, “I wasn’t using you the whole time. I liked the way you looked at me. I...was afraid that would change. And then, fuck. I was going to tell you, but then it all happened too fast. I wanted to protect you from this.” 

The sound of silence echoed through the cavern while he waited for her response. Her face had gone blank again and that worried him. “I need time to think about this.” 

This was not something that he expected. Time was something that he could give her. Hope blossomed, no matter how small.

“You okay, Ryder?” Vetra asked from behind him. He looked back and noticed she had her gun in hand. Drack was there too, with his melee weapon in hand.

“I’m fine. We need to get back to the ship. I’ll meet you out at the Nomad.”

Neither moved for a moment, but soon they turned and started away.

Reyes took that as his cue to leave. After being so confident before, he was unsure now. He worked to stand up straight and show the confidence he didn’t have. 

“Were you serious about what you said?” she asked as she walked with him to the entrance. The awkward silence had been too much.

“About what?”

“The way I looked at you. Not wanting it to change.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I was. No one had ever really looked at me the way you did. And when you said what you did to Zia. No one has done that for me in a very long time.” 

“Keema was right. When she told me you liked me.”

“Was that in doubt?”

“At least until after the party.”

He realized that perhaps he should have been straighter with her. Nothing he could say at this point could make things any better so he remained quiet.

“You won’t get yourself killed tonight will you?”

Her question caught him off guard, so he took a chance. “I won’t. Meet me tomorrow?”

“We’ll see. We do need to talk.” 

He took one last look at her and then walked away as fast as possible. The feeling of wanting to look back was there, but he refused to give in to it. His ship was waiting there with his men. They were milling about, just waiting on him. There was work to be done.


	22. The Heart Wants What it Wants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryder trying to ignore the obvious.

Once in the Nomad Drack commented, “I never would have imagined he was the Charlatan.”

“I suppose it remains to be seen whether he’ll be good for the port. I’ve done some more digging on him and he worked hard to build a reputation. Also has never been involved with the Oblivion trade. The Collective actually went out of the way to destroy the sale of it. Would try to get people off if possible. He always did know a lot of information. With the Collective being under him, it makes more sense now.” Vetra said. “When is everything going down?”

“Tonight. So it would be best if we laid low in the Tempest while it does.”

No one argued with her. The rest of the trip back to the port was mercifully quiet. She had a lot of thinking to do. Neither Drack nor Vetra said anything further about Reyes at all. 

Back at the port she radioed in to have the Nomad retrieved and they made their way to the docks. 

The port was busy as usual, but there were people that appeared to be concealing weapons. The takeover of the port was already starting. The doors to the dock closed behind them and they moved to the ship. 

Once on, she found that everyone was already back. Instead of calling a meeting to brief everyone she went straight to her quarters. Once inside she stood by the door for a moment, looking around. What did it all mean? Why would he have lied to her? Why was she so conflicted? She still wanted him, but could she trust him?

She shucked her armor off and then set to making sure that there were no issues with it. Right now, mindless busy work was called for. Something to do without needing to use her brain.

Two hours later her armor was shining and put away. She decided to go through the steps she had learned for Ju Jutsu. There were no formal movements, but it always good to practice the steps that could be used to avoid attacks. She clasped her arms behind her and started moving, while counting to herself. Clearing her mind of any thoughts she concentrated on her movements. Left, right, right, then back to the starting position. Now to the left. Concentrating on her breathing and the movements and kept her going through the motions.

After another hour of that, she felt calmer and more in control. She sat at her desk and reviewed mail that had come in. Items from her crew, items from random people, some crap from Tann. Her brother had sent something in, and she smiled. He was still going through physical therapy, regaining his strength. Having been in a coma for as long as he had been had been tough on him. He was looking to see when they’d be back at the Nexus as he was lonely and bored.

She thought about responding, but decided she didn’t feel up to it now. Standing up, she moved over to the couch and sprawled out on it. She didn’t want to think about Reyes and the decision she knew she needed to make.

“Ryder, why is this decision so difficult? He lied to you about something big. From what I have seen, trust is important to you. I do not understand why you feel so conflicted.”

She smiled despite herself. Only SAM could put something so succinctly. “The heart wants what it wants.”

“I do not understand what a quote from a letter from Emily Dickinson has to do with this.”

Alyssa laughed. “It explains everything perfectly, SAM. Even though he lied, I still like him. It doesn’t make sense. I do feel betrayed, but he is right and I feel I know the real him. He was upset. What did you get from him when we were in the cave?”

There was a pause and she imagined that SAM was accessing the information. After a moment he replied, “His body signs pointed to him being upset. Logically, he had won an important fight. That should have made him happy, but all signs pointed to the opposite.”

“Why do you think that was, SAM?”

There was another pause. “He is afraid of losing you.”

SAM had laid it out. She had been able to tell in the cave that Reyes was emotional. There were tells, and things that she had been able to pick up. He hadn’t looked back when he left.

“Ryder, if he likes you, why would he lie?”

“That is really more of a question for him to answer.”

“I could ask him.”

She sat up. “No SAM. He has a lot to think about. This wouldn’t be the time to ask him. He is going to be doing something dangerous.”

“Very well Ryder.” Another pause. “Drack is at the door.”

She was curious as to why the old krogan was there. “Let him in.”

The door opened as she sat up. Drack was there with a tray with food and drinks on it. He stomped into the room and set the tray down. Whatever it was, it smelled heavenly. She had forgotten about dinner and the fact that Drack was cooking. Out of everyone on the Tempest he was the best cook. No one turned away his food. Her stomach growled and she grabbed at a plate as he settled himself down in the seat to her right. This was unexpected. They ate in a companionable silence for a bit. She figured that Drack would eventually come out and tell her what was on his mind. He wasn’t known for his subtlety and was more akin to a bull in a china shop. In a way she was almost afraid of what he might have to say.

“So, everyone knows. Vetra and I gave them the rundown of what happened.”

Alyssa grunted and shoved a piece of meat into her mouth.

“They’re all worried about you.”

“So they sent you in to check on me?”

Drack laughed. “No. You hadn’t come in for dinner and you’re still a young kid and need food to keep up your strength. Wouldn’t be good if the Pathfinder went hungry on my watch.”

Drack had unofficially taken Alyssa under his wing. He was like the father she always wanted to have. “What were they saying?”

“Does it matter?”

She shrugged.

“Look, kid. Reyes fucked up. You want me to kill him, say the word. Thing is, you seem to really like the bastard. We’re all with you, no matter what. No one disagrees with you about letting Sloane die. You’re young and sometimes stupid, but you never make rash decisions when it counts.” Drack sat back and let out a belch.

“What do you think I should do?” The question was just about whispered.

“About Reyes? Damned if I know.”

“You’re an old man. Impart some wisdom.”

Drack grunted and leaned forward. “Your species is short lived. I’ve seen a lot of shit in my years. I’m not going to tell you what decision to make. No matter how much you want me to. Go with your gut.”

Drack stood and cracked some bones before putting the now empty dishes on the tray and picking it up. He left without another word. It did make her feel better knowing that Drack had her six.

She was feeling better after eating and having a heart to heart with a krogan. What was the world coming to?

She grabbed a towel and some clean underwear and hit the showers. The hot water felt wonderful as it washed over her. She went over in her mind all the encounters with Reyes as well as the ones that had been about him. Things were still muddled when she got out and got herself dressed. The Tempest was quiet. There would still be people awake, but they weren’t in the area. It seemed she was being given time to herself.

She went back into her quarters and crawled into bed and under the covers. The day had been exhausting. She knew with so much running through her mind, sleep wouldn’t come for a bit.

She turned off the lights and proceeded to compare the good and bad. It was going to be a long night.


	23. Is This the End?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reyes gets Alyssa's decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I was able to post. Between the holidays and being super busy at work I just didn't have the time or energy to be able to write, edit and post. Working to change that moving forward.

It had been one of the most stressful nights of his life and it had nothing to do with the takeover of Kadara Port. That part had gone smoothly overnight. The only problem had been Alyssa’s presence at the meeting. His stomach had dropped. It still went well, but now he could lose the one person he actually cared about. She had said she needed to think. He understood why, but worry was crushing him. He should have listened to Keema, but had been too worried about what she would think. The fear of loss had led him to lie and now there was a chance the one thing he had been trying to prevent would happen.

It was close to sunrise by the time he dragged his weary body back to Tartarus. A sleepless night had been anticipated so he slept before meeting Sloane. It was still an exhausting night. The Collective was in power now. Keema was the public figurehead, placed there by their agreement. The streets were buzzing with the news. Most people had stayed inside once the Collective agents had taken to the streets in force. The streets had almost been completely deserted. There were eyes on them during the operation, so word was spreading quickly.

The Outcasts that weren’t with the Collective were dead or escaped. Kaetus was the only exception, and was in a cell. Dr. Nakamoto was taking care of him as best he could. Reyes wanted him alive. Enough of the group had escaped and would likely cause problems down the line. Only Kaetus could provide intel on where they would go to ground.

Now he sat in his private room, nursing a bottle of whiskey and wanting nothing more than to sleep. Alyssa would be looking for him eventually, or at least he hoped she would. He replayed all their interactions seeing all the times he could have told her. Reyes wasn’t a man to regret things, but there were things he regretted with her.

Trying to keep himself awake, he went with the hope that she would decide to be with him. He searched until he found suitably romantic music and knew that he wanted to surprise her. He was being stupid. She’d tell him to take a long walk off a short pier. Still, he needed to fight for her, or at least try. He thought long and hard about what he’d say and made the decision that he would fight to make her his.

He was going over how best to tell her how he felt when a call came in from Keema.

“The Pathfinder was just here. She was looking for you.”

“How did she seem?”

“Unreadable. She merely asked if you were here. Once I told her that you were in your usual haunt she left.”

“Thanks Keema.” He disconnected and settled in to wait for her to come down.

It seemed like forever before the doors opened and she was standing there. He recalled the first time she was in the doorway when she was unsure of herself, of him. She didn’t look that way now. Her face was blank and he cringed inside. He wanted to get up, to go over to her, but froze and for once couldn’t think of anything to say. She entered the room and sat down and all he did was watch.

“Thought you’d be in the throne room. Tartarus is a little shabby for Kadara’s new leader, don’t you think?” She relaxed back on the couch, trying to look relaxed. There were small tells though, showing how tense she was.

“Come on, Ryder. You know I prefer to rule from the shadows.” 

“You are a shady bastard.” 

“But a handsome one, right?”

She smiled at him. He saw that her humor was being used as a defense. His stomach flip flopped. Business first and then personal. He leaned forward towards her, almost eagerly. “Before you say anything, I need you to listen to me. The Angara you met at Sloane’s party - Keema Dohrgun. She’s agreed to be my front. With Sloane gone, there’s room for the Initiative on Kadara. I want this outpost just as much as you do. It will have my full protection. That’s a promise, no matter what happens between us.” 

There was a pause as she mulled over his words. “It seems I allied myself with the right man. I’ll start rounding up volunteers for an outpost. Might take a while - you exiles have a reputation.”

“Not all of us are thieves and murderers. I am, but some of the others are perfectly nice.” He couldn’t help but revert back into the suave smuggler.

“Perfectly.” 

There was another awkward pause. He wanted to convince her now, but knew she should go first. She was the one that had to think things over. It was clear as day to him that he wanted her. With a desperation of a drowning man gasping for air he said, “I know you said you had thinking to do. Have you thought about your decision?”

She looked at him and he felt nauseous. Was this what liking someone was supposed to feel like? It was stressful and he wondered why anyone want to go through this? Her silence dragged on and he thought about pouring another glass of whiskey. She breathed in and let it out. Thoughts of shaking her until she gave him an answer danced in his mind.

“Is this the end?” He finally dared to ask.

She looked at him. “I don’t want it to be.”

He let out a breath that he had been holding. All the stress doubt were released with it.

“Shena doesn’t have anything to say for once?”

He grinned. “I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“That would be make two of us.” She leaned back and rubbed at her eyes.

He took the opportunity to stand, and fiddle with his omni tool. “If we’re done with all the boring business talk, there is something I want to do.”

“You’re up to something. Again.” She was looking at him with some suspicion.

Music began to play. “I neglected you on our first date. How about we fix that?”

She looked at him with surprise as he bent over and held a hand out to her.

“I didn’t know you had a romantic streak.” 

She took his hand and he pulled her up. In one movement he pulled her close to him and murmured, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

They were quiet while he led her in a simple dance around the room. There was a lot he wanted to say, but didn’t know how to say it. There was no end of irony in the situation. Shena at a loss for words. A smile played on her lips. He couldn’t help but stare at her. She was everything to him. He needed her to know it. “Since leaving the Nexus, even before that, my survival has depended on secrets. I don’t want any more of those between us, Ryder.”

“You’re the encrypted one,” she joked.

He laughed, but didn’t say what he wanted. He pulled her closer.

“What?”

“I was about to say something cheesy.”

“Say it.”

“Consider me hacked.”

She groaned at his bad joke.

“You wanted to know.”

“Reyes, you will always have secrets. It is part of who you are. Just don’t lie to me about the big stuff. OK?”

That shocked him. This woman was incredible. She was willing to look past everything and still trust him. Once again, he was almost speechless. “Thank you.”

“For what?” She looked at him with curiosity.

“For accepting me.”

“Just promise me you’ll tell me about the big stuff. Like being the Charlatan. I want you to trust me.”

He smiled. He was a lucky man. He didn’t know what deity to thank, but he was willing to thank every single one. He kissed her. Their dance slowed as they kissed. It lasted until the music stopped. He pulled away and then led her back over to the seats. She sat beside him.

“How much longer will you be on Kadara?”

“Long enough to get the outpost up and running. There are still bandits out there to be cleared out. Trying to get rid of me so soon?”

“You know me. Now that I’m leader, women will be lining up to spend time with me.” He put an arm around her shoulder.

“What happened to leading from the shadows? That doesn’t sound like keeping a low profile. I also think you should know, I have a lot of weapons at my disposal. Along with a crew that would definitely not be against revenge.

“In that case, I guess we’re exclusive now. It would be a shame for the first Pathfinder in the area to go missing.”

“Or a certain shady smuggler. Just so you know, the pools of water in the badlands are no longer good for dumping bodies. Water is clear now. Thanks to me.”

“You’re a busy woman. Trying to make sure I don’t get into any trouble.”

She snorted and responded, “That is a full time job by the looks of it.”

“I pay well. Do you have plans for the day?”

“I should reach out to the Initiative about Kadara. I should get out into the badlands and get the remaining bandits taken care of. Maybe split the crew so we can divide and conquer. Why?”

“Well, I could help you with the outpost part. I’m curious to see the spot that the newest outpost would be. I would need to make plans around that as well.”

“Business again?”

“Who says it can’t be a mixture?”

“You didn’t mention it would be both.”

“What else do you think it would be with me?”

“Fine. I’ll drive.”

He grinned. He had heard stories about her driving. “Am I signing my death certificate by agreeing to this?”

“No one has died yet.”

“Yet is the key word.” They left the club and headed for the entrance to the badlands.

“You don’t seem to have a weak heart. Maybe you should sign a waiver in case.”

“I like to live dangerously, so let’s just go.”


	24. In Perfect Harmony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reyes and Ryder alone time.

Even knowing that her crew wouldn’t like that she was doing this, she was going to put her trust in Reyes. It was risky, but this had to be the first step. She was going to be lectured until the end of time.

They walked out to the Nomad and got in.

“You might want to buckle up.”

He did so without questioning. She considered taking it easy on him, but he had already heard something about her driving. So why disappoint. She hit the gas and they took off. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him tighten his grip on the seat. She smiled and took a hard left to follow the dirt tracks that worked as a road. She gunned it more.

She drove over rocks, deadly bugs and even a couple of crates on the way to the site. She stayed away from driving up mountains, figuring there would be time for that later. Driving off high cliffs was a high point for her when Drack was in the Nomad. It was one of the few times she had seen him close to scared. It was a testament to his toughness that he continued to go out with her on missions that required them to use it.

They reached the site of the outpost pretty quickly. When the doors opened, Reyes almost stumbled out of the vehicle.

“You feeling okay, Reyes?”

“If I thought it was safe, I might kiss the ground.”

“What happened to living dangerously?”

“I need to draw a line somewhere.” He was bent over, and had his hands above his knees.

She tried not to laugh. “I hope you aren’t thinking about walking back.”

“That had crossed my mind.” He straightened up and looked around. “Is this the spot?”

She nodded and then moved to the back of the Nomad and opened opened it up. There was equipment that would mark the area for the Initiative. Reyes helped her get the beacon up and running.

They admired their handiwork for a moment.

“So what’s next?”

“Just a waiting game now, although there is still a lot to do on Kadara.” The thought made her want to sigh. Her job was never done.

“Anything I can assist with?”

“I’m sure I’ll find something for you to do.”

He laughed and moved closer. “So now that this is done…”

He was behind her and wrapped her in his arms. She wished she didn’t have the armor on. “What did you have in mind once we were out here, Reyes?”

“Lots of things. It is just the two of us.”

“Well, there is a scary looking dinosaur thing over there. I think it’s drooling.”

He nibbled on her right ear, which sent chills through her. “Let it drool.”

“It’ll eventually do more.”

Reyes pushed her towards the Nomad and then turned her to face him. He grabbed and lifted her clear off the ground. She was against the Nomad. He kissed her with a ferocity that was exciting. She put her arms around him to pull him in closer. He worked his way down and sucked on her neck.

She kept her eyes open and watched the dinosaur. It started to come closer, figuring they would be easy prey.

“We need to move on now,” she managed to say. He turned and saw that it was coming closer.

He sighed and let her down gently. “Well, I know where we can go.”

“Since you know where, I’ll let you drive.”

His eyes opened wide for a moment. “Really?”

“Don’t tell anyone. I don’t want to hear about it from everyone on my team.”

A smile lit his face as he hopped in. He was like a little kid. “I’ll try not kill us.”

She settled herself down in the seat and watched as he looked over everything in the cabin. Then he grabbed the wheel and hit the gas. They shot forward. He took it easy for a time before glancing over at her. There was an unspoken question about whether he could push it. Alyssa gave a slight nod.

It was exhilarating as he pushed the Nomad to the limit. He drove a bit like her in a way. She finally understood why others could be bothered by it. Not having control was stressful and freeing at the same time.

They came to a screeching halt outside a cave.

He got out and crossed his arms. “I can see why you drive the way you do. The handling is so precise.”

“I understand the fear others have of my driving now.”

He laughed, grabbed her hand and led her inside. They went through the cave until they came to an opening. The view was spectacular. It seemed as if this was the highest point on the planet. She thought she could even see the port from here. 

Alyssa was enjoying the view when Reyes was beside her with drinks. He handed her a cup. She took it and looked at him. He raised his glass and said, “To us.”

She raised hers and they clinked them together. “To us.”

The cup had whiskey in it. She took a long drink and then he grabbed her hand and sat her down near the end of the entrance. There was a container close by and he pulled out food and handed some over. They talked about things while they ate. He asked questions about the crew, the Tempest and how she felt about the Initiative. She asked him how he became the Charlatan and his reasons for leaving the Initiative.

Once done, he put the items away and then moved in close and began to kiss her.  Things heated up quickly and he began to remove her armor, piece by piece. She worked on his in turn and soon enough they were down to their underwear. He stood and pulled her up and led her over to a mattress, pillows and a blanket. 

“You set this all up?” She managed to ask as he brought her down on the mattress.

“I didn’t personally. I had someone do it, but I told them what I wanted here. I thought that perhaps...”

“Reyes -” He cut her off with a kiss.

His hands were exploring and she was tingling. He unhooked her bra with one hand and pulled it off. She removed his undershirt and stared at him. He was in excellent shape. It was no wonder he was able to lift her, even with armor on. He looked better than she had imagined.

He slowly removed her panties, and trailed kisses down her legs. She sighed and removed his boxer briefs. For a moment he just stared at her naked body. She could feel herself flushing and moved slightly to cover herself.

He grabbed her hands, put them together and held both with his right and put them above her head. He leaned in close. “You don’t really know how beautiful you are, do you?”

He kissed her, not allowing her to respond. It was a slow burn of a kiss that drove her wild. She got lost in the moment with him. There was nothing else but the two of them together. He was an attentive lover and he made her cry out his name more than once.

Time stood still as they were in perfect harmony together. She learned everything she could about his body and he did the same with her. The sun had begun to set by the time they had completely exhausted each other. 

Reyes nuzzled into her neck. “That was...incredible.”

She hummed in response. 

“Does your tattoo mean anything?” 

“It was something my brother and I did before coming to Andromeda.”

“How is he doing?”

“Better. Still not ready for active duty, which irritates him to no end.”

He chuckled.

She was going to say more when SAM broke in on their private channel. She listened to him as he told her that the crew was getting more nervous at the lack of response. She sighed and then rolled over so she could face Reyes. “This has been a wonderful day, Reyes.”

He raised an eyebrow and one side of his mouth ticked up into a slight smile. “I have to give you a reason to come back and see me.”

“You gave me plenty of reasons.”

“Good. I definitely want to see you again.” He caressed her cheek. “We should get back.”

“That's what I was going to say. SAM told me that my crew is getting nervous at the lack of response.” Despite having worried her crew, she needed this. A day that was worry free.

He sat up and stretched. She noticed some scars on his back and filed the information away to ask him about another time. There was a lot she wanted to know about this man. He got up and grabbed their clothes and brought them over. They dressed quietly. He helped get her armor back on. Once geared up she leaned over to grab the case with the food.

“Leave it. My people will take care of it.” He grabbed her arm and they walked through the cave and back to the Nomad. They got in and started the drive back to the port. He rested a hand on her thigh while she drove.

It was dark by the time they got back into the slums. He brought her straight to the lift and back to the ship. On the way up he pulled her close and they kissed until they reached the dock.

“If there is time tomorrow, I’d love to see you again.” he said.

“I’ll let you know. Maybe I can show you around the ship.” She got off the lift and he pushed the button to go back down. They stared at each other until he was out of sight.


	25. Girl's Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff with the girls

She managed to make it to her quarters without seeing anyone. Once the doors closed behind her she leaned against the doors, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew there was work to be done and it would be a late night. Still, it had been worth it.

She sat down at the terminal and checked her messages. She had them from everywhere. People thanking her, the crew wanting to speak to her and the Nexus asking to meet or for an interview.

The most important one was the response about the equipment having been set up on Kadara. They were getting people out of cryo and working to get everything loaded and to Kadara as soon as possible. Estimated time of arrival for the first part was in four days. That should give her enough time to tie up loose ends. There were still things that she had promised she would do for people. She had also driven past camps of mercenaries in the badlands, which needed to be dealt with.

She rubbed her eyes and grabbed a small tablet to take to the couch. She was comfortable and scanning reports about what was going on around the port. She wasn’t reading anything, thinking more about her day with Reyes.

“Pathfinder, you have visitors.” SAM announced.

She looked up as the doors to her quarters opened. Vetra, Peebee, Suvi and Cora were standing there. An odd group to be sure. They walked in, and each was carrying something. Vetra had drinks, Peebee, Cora and Suvi had food.

“We thought you might need something to eat.” Suvi said.

“I guess I do. I hadn’t thought about it.”

Peebee laughed and said. “I told you.” 

Vetra and Cora were more subdued.

They came over to the couch and behind them Perry the Pyjack bounded in. He ran over and settled on the couch next to her.

“The little scamp hears about food and comes running,” Suvi said.

It looked like they were going to stay, so she put the tablet down. “What brings you in?”

They all exchanged looks. “You ask her.” Cora said to Suvi.

Suvi shook her head and looked at Vetra.

“This wasn’t my idea.” Vetra looked at Peebee.

“Thanks for ratting me out.” Peebee pouted. She took a bite of food and looked at Ryder. “So, what’s he like?”

She could feel the heat flushing her face as she knew why they were here. 

“That good?” Cora said. This was entirely unlike her.

Ryder felt her face grow hotter.

“If she turns any more red her head might explode.” Vetra commented. “Maybe we should give her a drink.”

“More like a cold shower,” Peebee cackled.

They poured a drink and handed it over, along with a plate of some food. Some of the fruits were from Aya. Perry crawled into her lap looking for handouts. She handed him a piece of fruit. He settled down to munch on the food and she stroked his head. She took a drink and thought about what to say. They were her friends. She had been with them since she had gotten the Tempest, Cora even before that. She had to admit it had been awhile since she had been able to talk to anyone about anything. Back in the Milky Way she had friends that she spent time with.

It seemed so long ago now, and in reality it was. She settled back on the seat and looked at them. “It was...incredible.”

“I thought so. That man’s accent and the way he carries himself…” Peebee’s eyes closed and she was quiet a moment. “Have to say, I’m pretty jealous.”

Vetra was more pragmatic. “He’s good at what he does. He keeps himself closed off though. You managed to break through. I’m curious about how.”

“And what you were even thinking. Going off alone with him out into the badlands. He lied to you once before. That would have been a perfect opportunity for him to get rid of you if he wanted.” It exploded from Cora, as if she had been holding it in.

“Cora! You promised you wouldn’t!” Peebee chastised.

“It’s the truth! She could have been in danger and we couldn’t have done anything about it.”

“Cora does have a point,” Vetra put in.

“I can take care of myself you know.”

“She totally can.” Peebee crossed her arms as she defended Alyssa. “Now stop raining on the parade. Happy discussion, no lecturing allowed.”

Cora and Vetra both sighed. Cora pressed her lips together. Vetra’s faceplates twitched, but both remained silent.

Peebee was smiling again after having given them a look. “You have to tell details. I mean, wow.”

“He’s a lot more than what he seems. He keeps surprising me.”

“I don’t even know who yer all talkin’ about.” Suvi finally said.

“Oh my goodness Suvi!” Peebee exclaimed, her eyes wide. “Only one of the sexiest men that Ryder managed to snag. The man oozes sex.”

Suvi looked baffled. “I’ll have to take yer word for it.”

“We’ll get you off the ship at some point to see. Or get him on.” Vetra said. It seemed she was getting over her worry, but Alyssa felt that another lecture would come.

“Well, he might be on the ship tomorrow.” Alyssa mentioned.

Eyes widened. 

“If there’s time,” she added. “The Initiative is on their way to setup the outpost. They expect arrival in a few days. We should try to clear out some of the bandit camps nearby.”

“We can finish them off pretty quickly and then get him on the ship!” Peebee said excitedly. She was gung ho for this. Perhaps a little too much.

“Is it safe to bring him on?” Cora asked. “I know there’s something between you two now, but he’s still an exile and the Charlatan.”

“He said that he wasn’t involved in the uprising.”

“Charlatan.” was Cora’s response.

“So we make sure that he doesn’t go anywhere too sensitive.” Vetra suggested.

“It’s a little late for that.” Peebee said and burst into laughter. The others howled.

Cora eventually stopped laughing and shook her head. She was outnumbered and she knew it. “We can try.”

The girls stayed for another two hours. It felt good to have this day end like this.


	26. Something to Prove

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reyes gets on the Tempest

It had been a long night and he hadn’t gotten any real sleep. He had been preparing to go to bed when his omni-tool started blinking. A message had come in. He hoped it would be from Ryder, but that wasn’t the case.

_ Vidal, _

_ We need to talk. Meet me outside Kralla’s in fifteen minutes. Don’t make me wait. _

_ V Nyx _

This was something he hadn’t prepared for. He knew that Vetra and Ryder were close. She had hinted as much. The Turian had shot him some looks in the times leading up to the final showdown, and he knew she didn’t much care for him.

He dressed quickly, taking her unspoken threat seriously. She was well known around these parts and could track him down if needed. He didn’t care to have her sniffing around outside his place. While he knew her reputation, he knew only that. Didn’t really know the woman, except that she was a fierce fighter and quite obviously, a loyal friend.

He saw her waiting casually outside Kralla’s. She didn’t appear to be paying much attention to what was going on around her, but knew she was. Vetra was alone. She had been here enough to know the ins and outs. Even though things radically changed with Sloane’s death, she knew who the Charlatan was. She also knew that the Collective’s orders would be not to harm any of the crew of the Tempest, or they’d be dealing with him.

He started walking across the marketplace. She noticed and straightened from her lean.

“Vetra.” he greeted.

“I’m glad you could make it Vidal. I think we should take a walk.”

She was as tall as him, maybe just a smidge taller. They walked along in silence for some time. He was waiting for her to talk as she wanted to meet with him.

Eventually, she came out with it. “What exactly, are you doing with Ryder?”

There it was. He thought it might be about this, and he knew there was one way to answer this. It dawned on him that if he were serious about Ryder he needed to get her crew to like him, or at the very least trust him. They’d likely poison her view of him if he wasn’t careful. This wasn’t something he was used to, and he almost didn’t know how to respond.

She was watching him and waiting.

“You want to know if I’m going to hurt her. The answer is no.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you? You’ve already proven yourself a liar. A very good one.”

He gritted his teeth. “What do you want me to say? That I’m going to use, abuse and dump her? Or is that just what you are hearing, no matter what I say? If so, this conversation is a waste. I’ll never convince you with words. Ryder made her choice.”

“She may have made a choice, but if it isn’t a good one, we have plenty of planets to visit and lots of time to spend away from here. I wouldn’t be above killing you. Neither would Drack.”

Reyes could feel his face flushing. He had been threatened before, but never for this reason. He stopped walking, causing Vetra to pull up short and turn to face him. “I don’t think it is your place to threaten me. You may be her friend, but..”

“But what? You love her? Please. You’re an exile, smuggler and the Charlatan.” The last part came out as a hiss. “I don’t think you know what love is. I’m part of her family now. I do care about and love her. I will do whatever I can to keep her from harm.”

He worked hard to reign his emotions in. Vetra was trying to protect her friend. He hadn’t been truthful about who he was. It was natural that they would be working to protect her. He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again.

Vetra was staring at him hard.

“I don’t expect you to like or trust me right now. I would ask you to give me a chance. To show you that I won’t hurt her.” He held his arms out to the side. “She makes me want to be a better person. If you are her family, you’ll give me the chance to try.”

That set Vetra back. She tilted her head at him slightly. “You’re going to have to prove it to more than me.”

“I’m up for a challenge.”

Vetra nodded curtly. “Come with me.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Where?”

“The Tempest.”

He furrowed his brow in confusion, but followed Vetra.

Vetra led him all the way back to the ship and right inside. Cora and Peebee were waiting at the door. It was as if he had been expected. Reyes narrowed his eyes slightly at the three women. There was an awkward silence before Peebee, looking suspicious, spoke up.

“Welcome to the Tempest Reyes. It is okay if I call you that right?” 

He decided to put on his brightest smile. “Absolutely. You are Alyssa’s friends.”

Peebee’s smile matched his own. Cora looked on, obviously not pleased.

“Where is Alyssa?”

“She’ll be along shortly. In the meantime, we’ll show you around.”

He clasped his hands behind his back and started following the girls around. He looked around the ship as they walked along, taking everything in. They were in the cargo bay at the moment. So far, everything he was seeing was nothing important. Which was likely Cora’s doing. He couldn’t blame them, he wouldn’t want him to see anything sensitive either.

From behind, “You look like you’re waiting for someone.”

Reyes turned and looked her up and down. She was in her hoodie. “Ryder.”

“We were showing him around the cargo bay.” Cora said.

“We should show him the front of the ship.” Peebee sounded downright mischievous at the moment.

He was going to say something about the slight flush to Alyssa’s cheeks when a pyjack came out of nowhere. It bounded right up to her, squeaking the whole way. Alyssa scooped it up in her arms, took something out of a pocket and handed it to the thing. His eyes widened. “Is that a pyjack?”

“Yes. We were asked to take him on so that the scientists on the Nexus could study how he’d react to space travel. His name is Perry.”

“Will wonders never cease?” Reyes mumbled.

“I guess we’ll make our way to the bridge,” she said and Peebee let out a small squeal.“Oh, that is Gil up there and you know Jaal.” 

She waved up to the level above. Reyes looked up to the see Jaal and a human, which must be Gil. Gil smiled and waved. Jaal crossed his arms over his chest. They walked to the lift, which Gil sent it down. The man was leaning against a window which showed the engine room.

Reyes walked past him and suddenly Alyssa giggled behind him, but it turned into a cough. He worked to concentrate on what Peebee was saying up ahead.

The asari was leading the way, and Vetra was walking next to him. Ryder wasn’t far behind and Cora was trailing behind them all keeping an eye on things.

They entered the research room. Liam was off to the right with Drack. Both were looking at a computer screen. He didn’t say anything, but could tell they weren’t looking at the screen. It seemed they were more curious about him being on the ship than anything.

“Oh Liam and Drack!” Peebee said, pure glee in her voice. Reyes wasn’t sure if she was always like this, or if something was going on. Judging by Alyssa’s reactions, something was going on.

Liam was polite, but sizing him up. The younger man didn’t seem to care for him. Drack grunted.

Peebee continued to the bridge. The doors opened to reveal a large space. A woman was standing by a chair and a salarian head came out from behind the back of the chair to see who had entered.

Peebee skipped over to the two. “Suvi and Kallo. This is Reyes Vidal. He’s helped us out in Kadara Port. Reyes, meet Kallo and Suvi.”

Reyes nodded to each.

“Hello.” Kallo said.

“Ohhh, I see.” Suvi said and smiled at him. “I’ve heard  _ so _ much about you.”

Reyes turned and looked at Ryder and raised one of his eyebrows. Alyssa smiled in response and shrugged. He looked back at Suvi. “Really? That’s an interesting piece of information.”

"I mean, it’s all been good. What I heard I mean.” The woman seemed to be trying to course correct. “How long have you been on Kadara?”

“Over a year now.”

“Is there anything you can tell me about the local flora?”

“Not really.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. I need to get some samples. I’ve been told I can’t lick anything though.”

“Lick?”

“Yes, for science. I did that with something from Havarl. My mouth and tongue swelled for a week. I was so happy once I was able to eat solid food again. Have you tried to eat any of the native flora?”

“I can’t say that I have.”

“Do you know if the angara living in the port do?”

“Not that I know of.” Reyes was wondering how Alyssa ended up with this crew. No one that he knew had ever randomly licked things in the name of science.

“Suvi, we have a lot to do today, so I’ll finish up the tour so we can head out.” Alyssa broke in. Reyes was thrilled that he was being extricated from Suvi.

“Oh, yes. Sorry about that. Nice to meet you Reyes.”

“Likewise.”

They left the bridge and he overhead Kallo ask what was going on. Suvi shushed him.

“Well, let’s take the ladder down. Less chance that we’ll run into someone. At least I think.”

She slid down the ladder and he did the same at the one on the opposite side. Alyssa looked embarrassed. “So, over here is the galley and behind you are the crew quarters and the bathrooms.”

“And these large doors here, where do they lead?” He asked. 

“Those are uh, my quarters.”

Reyes smiled at her, thoughts of the prior day in his head. “And...is that part of the tour?”

“Well, I mean, I suppose I could…” she trailed off, opened the doors and brought him inside.

“This is...spacious.” Reyes said as he looked around. The room was huge, bigger than anything he had imagined. 

“Only the best for the Pathfinder,” she acknowledged.

The doors closed behind them and he asked, “Are they always like that?”

“Only when they’re up to something.” She shook her head. “Don’t ask.”

He chuckled and started walking around the room. “What is it that you’re doing today?”

“Going to try getting rid of the bandits.” He could hear her shuffling behind him.

“I could go with you.”

“What? You don’t have to do that.”

He shrugged. “I want to. Who is uh, going with you?”

“Peebee and Drack most likely.”

He stopped by her bed. “This is a large bed.”

She was blushing when he turned and looked at her. He closed the short distance between them and grabbed her. “The fact that I can still make you blush…Maybe we can break the bed in some time.”

“I would like that.” she said.

“I think we both will.” He kissed her. “But right now there is work to do?”

“Well, I’ll get ready to go then.”

“It might be safer if I waited in here?”

She snickered. “Are you feeling a little intimidated Reyes?”

He sat on the couch, arms resting on the back and stretching his legs out. “Maybe I prefer watching you.”

She smiled at him and started pulling her armor on.


	27. Behind the Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cleaning out a bandit camp when the unexpected happens.

The sun was shining brightly on the Nomad.

“Can we see if Reyes can drive?” he heard Drack ask Peebee.

“Grow a pair, old man.” was Peebee’s reply. She would have balls to mouth off to a Krogan.

“I happen to have 2 pairs.” 

Ryder started coughing. 

Peebee sputtered a moment before giving up. “I’m taking shotgun!” she yelled and ran the rest of the way to Nomad, hopping into the front passenger seat.

Reyes turned and looked at Drack. “Is the ride in the back any better than the front?”

The Krogan grunted. “No place is safe when Ryder’s driving.”

“There are at least seatbelts?”

“Oh yeah.”

Reyes sat behind Alyssa and Drack behind Peebee.

Peebee yelled in excitement as the Nomad jerked forward. He heard Drack muttering to himself about having only one heart left and Alyssa trying to stop it.

She came to a halt by a hill. He knew the area, there was an encampment on the other side. They exited the vehicle.

“What’s the plan,” Drack asked.

“Just go in and clean them out.”

“I have a suggestion.” Reyes said.

They all turned to look at him. He shifted a little, not sure if he should be putting in his two cents in a group like this.

“Go ahead,” Ryder encouraged.

“Well, I could go down to them first, try to reason with them. If anything, the more that we can get over to our side, the better.” He was serious about not starting a war with people. They didn’t have the numbers to survive at this point in time. Not with the kett trying to destroy them.

Drack grunted.

“I like that idea.” Peebee agreed. “I’ll go down with you to meet them.”

“I can do it myself,” Reyes argued.

Before Peebee could respond and it looked like she was getting ready to hit him with some barb, Ryder stepped in. “It might not be a bad idea for both of you to go down. Just in case. She doesn’t look like she’s part of the Initiative. Really, as long as I stay out of sight, that is the big thing.”

“What about me?” Drack asked. He was itching to hit or shoot something.

Ryder looked thoughtful a moment. “I could find a good spot and set up with my sniper rifle. Provide cover if needed. Intel too using my scope. Drack, you could stay out of sight unless needed and then rush in. A charging krogan should surprise them.”

Drack nodded and laughed. They walked together until the time came to split up. Reyes was uncomfortable with putting his trust in other people. He knew it would be something he’d need to get used to. The moment they were out of earshot of the other two, Peebee started talking.

"So, you and Ryder.”

He shot a side glance at her and said nothing.

“Are you serious about her or is she just your next fling? Does she know if it is a fling? If that is what it is? If it isn’t, is she aware of that?”

Jesus the girl needed to take a breath. He had an idea on where Alyssa had hunkered down and glared in that general direction.

“I’ve got twenty as far as I can see.” Alyssa’s voice came in through the com.

The odds weren’t in their favor. They had never been in his before and he knew Alyssa didn’t care about them. 

Peebee kept babbling on, trying to get him to react or respond. At the moment he was refusing, hoping she would take the hint. She wasn’t.

Thankfully, a couple of bandits stepped out of cover, which quieted Peebee down. He moved ahead of her and held his hands out, showing he was unarmed.

“What do you want?”

The fact that they were talking and not just shooting was a good thing. “I’m an agent of 

the Collective and want to discuss options with you.”

“Options? For what?”

“Joining our ranks and coming back into the port.” He was making it up as he went along, but so far it was sounding good and he had their attention. “Are you the people I would talk to about this?”

“What is the other option?”

Reyes smiled. “Total destruction.”

They shifted slightly, one started reaching for a weapon. 

This he anticipated and was ready for. He grabbed the pistol on his leg and turned it towards one of the bandits without removing it from the holster. It had been made for this. He shot the one on the left in the gut. Beside him, he felt the flare of biotics and then the two were tossed backwards from the blast. He had never been this close before and he was tingling with the power of it.

Behind them, Drack roared and the reports of Alyssa’s sniper rifle echoed off the mountains and hills. She had picked a more rapid fire rifle this time around. Bandits were coming at them from all sides. One somehow had gotten behind him and he didn’t realize it until the man grunted from being shot. He turned and finished the job.

The battle was over before it even really began. Alyssa had a strong team at her back. he and Peebee turned to start heading up towards Alyssa. She was coming down to them. 

A roar from the side had them all turning to see a Fiend coming. Reyes had managed to avoid dealing with one. That was going to change now.

“Shit!” Alyssa yelled. He saw her grab her shotgun. The thing was huge and running straight at her. Farther behind her, Drack fired his weapon and got its attention. It changed course faster than he thought possible based on its size and ran straight for the Krogan.

Alyssa was chasing the Fiend, to his dismay. He yelled, “What the fuck?!?”

Peebee let a shockwave loose. At just the right moment, Alyssa rocketed into the air and it passed under her and hit the beast. It didn’t stop the thing’s course, but made it stumble. It bowled into Drack who was flying through the air before hitting the ground. Reyes tried shooting at the thing, as did Peebee. Alyssa took some shots from the air, which got its attention. The Friend wasn’t the brightest and it charged straight at them.

Without thinking, they began to back away, while still firing. Reyes was debating on the best direction to run when Alyssa landed on its back. Her gauntlet activated. This was a foolhardy move at best and he wasn’t sure it would work.

What happened next was unexpected. The Fiend stopped, and Alyssa went flying. Reyes heard himself yelling, but everything was moving in slow motion. There was no way to stop what was happening. A large paw reached out lazily and batted her to the left. Total rage filled him. He didn’t even watch Alyssa’s body, he was concentrating on killing that thing before it destroyed them all. Peebee let another shockwave go and then Drack was back in the fight as well. The thing was getting weaker and eventually they were able to finish it off. All were breathing hard, but once it was dead they ran over to Alyssa.

She was on the ground, on her back. Her helmet was off. Drack stood at a short distance while he and Peebee knelt on either side.

“Fuck. We should get her back to the ship.” Peebee said. She sounded scared.

“I agree.” 

“How about you give her some space.” Drack said.

“How about you all shut up and stop the planet from spinning so fast.” Alyssa slurred.

“Should we get her up?” Peebee asked.

Reyes held two fingers in front of her face. “How many fingers?”

“Two?”

“SAM, is anything broken?” Peebee asked.

SAM’s response came through to everyone. “That does not appear to be the case.”

“Fuck it. I’m getting her up.” Reyes lifted her up, moving slow.

“Hey there.”

Reyes felt himself flush. He glanced at her. Alyssa’s head was lolling slightly and she was grinning at him. He looked to the others. “How are we getting her back?”

“I’d suggest the Nomad, but no one but Ryder and Vetra have driven it.” There was a hint of jealousy in Peebee’s voice. “Ryder is in no shape to drive and while I would be more than happy to, I don’t know that I could.”

“Yeah, no thanks. One crazy driver is enough for me.” Drack protested and then looked at him. “Can you call us a drop ship or something?”

Reyes nodded. “I need someone to support her.”

Drack grabbed her gently. 

Reyes opened up his tool and reached out. “This is Reyes Vidal, I need a drop ship to the following coordinates. Need to get back to Kadara Port quickly.”

He listened for a moment and a response came through. “We hear you loud and clear. ETA is fifteen minutes.”

“Fifteen minutes,” he confirmed. He held an arm out and Drack passed Alyssa back over to him. It was going to be a long wait.


	28. Hell to Pay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cora and Alyssa have a small fight.

They made it to the port without delay. Once there, Reyes told them to sit tight until they heard from him. It was possible they’d be needed to get them back to the Nomad. They rushed her to the Tempest.

They straight into the medbay where Lexi was waiting. SAM had made her aware of the situation before they even arrived. 

“What happened?” Lexi asked.

They all tried talking at once.

“One at a time!” Lexi yelled in exasperation.

“We were clearing out a bandit camp…” Peebee started.

“Yeah, we cleaned them up good.” Drack continued.

“A Fiend came out of nowhere,” Peebee said.

“She got knocked around a bit.” Reyes finished.

“I’m fine now,” Ryder put in. “We need to get back out there.”

The door to the medbay opened and Cora stalked in.

“I’ll be the judge of that.” Lexi started poking, prodding and scanning.

“I want you three out.” Cora ordered.

Reyes, although he wasn’t part of the crew exited the room. The woman’s look showed she wouldn’t accept any argument.

He leaned against the wall next to the door. Everyone else appeared as the doors closed. They listened as the yelling inside the medbay increased.

“Who would you bet on in a fight between Cora and Ryder?” Peebee asked. She was pacing. It was driving him insane. She had this constant nervous energy.

“Cora.” Liam responded. Everyone looked at him and he got defensive. “What? She was an Asari Commando. She has more experience.”

“You aren’t giving Ryder enough credit.” Drack rumbled. “She thinks on the fly and does things that aren’t expected.”

“Like riding on a Fiend.” Peebee said. 

Reyes snorted. He had to agree, it was impressive seeing her trying to take it down. He had started out incredibly proud and ended with his heart threatening to beat its way out of his chest. He feared the worst when she had gone flying. It was tough to push aside those feelings and help Peebee and Drack take down the creature. Inside the medbay, the yelling increased in volume again.

The door opened and Lexi came out. “The good news is, Ryder is fine.”

He snuck a glance inside and saw Cora and Ryder face to face.

“I didn’t want this!” Ryder was yelling. “It was thrust upon me! So I’m doing what I can. Maybe that isn’t the right thing in your eyes, but I’m the Pathfinder! Not you!”

There was a blue glow around Cora as her biotics flared. They dimmed as she controlled her emotions. The woman turned and stalked out. Everyone outside the door tried to make it appear as if they hadn’t been listening in.

Ryder stalked out next. “We’re moving out. We need to retrieve the Nomad and finish clearing out more camps.”

The group scattered. For a moment he wasn’t sure some had been there at all. He pushed off the wall to follow her.

This time, Drack and Cora were going out. He had already reached out to the agents at the dock and they were ready to get them back out to the Nomad’s location. They got in and Alyssa hit the gas like their lives depended on it.

They spent a majority of the afternoon moving from site to site and taking down bandits. Only a few agreed to join and that was because they heard what happened to the other groups in the area. They made a side stop for Drack and got some intel on Spender. Reyes remembered that bastard. He had never been pleasant to work with and it had only gotten worse as time wore on. They were working to expose him for the asshole he was and have him dealt with. Cora worked to keep Alyssa on a tight leash, but the Pathfinder was working her anger out. 

Finally, they were done for the day.

Reyes received a message from Keema as they arrived at the port. He needed to go and take care of Collective business. On top of that, the lack of sleep was catching up with him. He needed to get back to his place and sleep. He hoped it would be for a full night for once. 

“Thank you for such an interesting day.” he said as he got off the lift at the docs. He kissed her and then moved towards the Collective’s base of operations in the port.


	29. Hope In Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An important meeting between the leader of the Initiative outpost and the leader of Kadara port.

Reyes was leaving the club. He didn’t appear to be paying much attention to his surroundings, but looks were deceiving in his case. Once outside he stopped to send a response to Crux. He closed the tool down and felt his chest expand as he took a breath in. It still amazed him how clear the air was now. There was still a slight smell of sulfur, but not as bad as it had been.

An engine roared outside the gates and he smiled. He was on his way to Keema to prepare her for the meeting with the head of the new Initiative outpost. Alyssa had worked hard to make sure it would happen. Both had a vested interest in getting the Initiative and Collective to work together. 

Keema could wait a few moments. He wanted to see Alyssa. They had spent last night together, but it still seemed too long since they had been together. She was a drug he was hopelessly addicted to. He ambled down to the gate and leaned against the wall, trying not to look like he was waiting.

Vetra came out first, giving him a side glance and quick nod, but not slowing down. Liam and Alyssa came out together.

“There’s never been a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.” Liam was grinning as they exited the building.

“Dammit Kosta! I was going to use that line,” she grumbled and punched him in the arm.

“Hey, you had a great line when we went after Verand.”

“I couldn’t help myself.”

“Your turn next. You better come up with a real good one.” Liam’s eyes settled on Reyes and he mumbled, “Scruffy looking nerf herder.”

Alyssa turned and saw him leaning there and her face lit up. Reyes pushed off the wall and smiled. “Who’s scruffy looking?”

Liam blanched realizing Reyes had heard him. “I’ll see you at the ship. I want to get cleaned up before the meeting.” 

Without taking her eyes off Reyes, she replied, “Sure. I’ll be along shortly.”

Liam ran off to catch up with Vetra, who was halfway to the lift. It was obvious the guy didn’t like him. Reyes didn’t blame him, he hadn’t been forthcoming about the fact he was the Charlatan. One could argue he had put Alyssa in unnecessary danger. It felt like there was more to it than that though.

“I get the feeling he doesn’t like me,” he commented.

Alyssa turned red before responding, “Well I mean, you’re a smuggler and exile. So you’ve got some points against you. Liam did police work back in the Milky Way you know.”

He squinted at her for a moment, she wasn’t telling him everything. For now, he would let it drop. “So, it sounds like you are playing some sort of game with Liam?”

She turned a bit more red. He held an arm out, and she took it. He knew he should be more careful, but to hell with it. They started off towards the lift. “It’s just a thing that we do.”

“Star Wars quotes?”

“I’m surprised you know, and could respond to Liam.”

“Those films are classics. How could I not know them? You think too little of me. So, you choose quotes that fit in a certain scenario?”

“Yeah. We’ve been going back and forth for a while on it. We try to one up each other with using the best line at just the right moment.”

“You are a woman of many talents.”

“Some people would disagree. They’d say this is pretty useless.”

“I would disagree with that. How did this start anyway?”

She gave him a look. “Well, a friend of Liam’s had been captured by pirates and we went in for a rescue mission. Liam, Peebee and I got into an empty crate in space and waited for them to pick us up. We ended up in a kett ship. Found out that angaran pirates had commandeered it which was a relief. In the cargo bay the leader of the group was trying to find out what was going on through a comm. So, I answered him.”

Reyes raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“I responded with ‘Everything’s under control. Just a simple weapons malfunction. How are you?’”

They reached the lift and he hit the button to bring it down. He was laughing at her quick wit. “You did not.”

Alyssa nodded, looking proud now. “I did. It was the perfect opportunity. Wasn’t the exact quote, but close enough for Liam and Peebee to get. So since then, Liam and I have been going back and forth.”

Reyes smiled, “He did good using Obi Wan’s quote about Mos Eisley for Kadara.”

Alyssa nodded. “Have to admit it was perfect. Now I need to come up with something to beat that.”

The lift arrived and they got on. “So, did you get Liam’s friend?”

“Yeah. It took awhile, even with help from Podromos, but we got it done.”

“You’ll have to tell me the rest of the story sometime. While I would like to spend more time with you, Keema is waiting.”

“I have to get to the ship and clean up anyway. Want to look my best.”

The lift stopped and he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it before the doors opened. She blushed furiously, which amused him to no end. “You always look your best. I’ll see you later.”

“Until then, Reyes.”

He walked off through the docks and into the port and was at the HQ in no time. The guards nodded at him. He was no one important to most people, just a smuggler in the Collective and friends with Keema. 

Keema shooed everyone out with a flick of her wrist when he entered. She was perfect in her role, respected and well known. He couldn’t have chosen a better front. Once everyone was gone she broke into a grin, stood and gave him a hug. He returned it.

“You’re late,” she chastised.

“Fashionably so.”

Keema grinned, knowing why he was late. “You are adorable. Young love is grand.”

Reyes rolled his eyes. Keema sat on her throne dramatically and batted her eyes at him. “How are things going with the Pathfinder?”

She prodded him for information whenever they met. Sometimes it felt like she was living vicariously through his own happiness. He had never seen Keema with anyone. She claimed there were suitors, but they may have been made up. “Things are fine. What about you? Anyone special in your life?”

She tsked. “I’m far too busy for such trivial things. I have a boss that runs me absolutely ragged.”

He snorted and crossed his arms. “If I can find the time, you can too.”

“You worry too much.”

“Pot calling the kettle black.”

Keema tilted her head, confusion on her face. 

It slipped his mind at times that there was a difference between them. “It’s just a saying back in the Milky Way. Don’t worry about it. Let’s get down to business. They’ll be here soon enough.”

They went over shaking hands. He wanted to be prepared that the standard angaran greeting wouldn’t be known. They had recently been released from cryo and likely hadn’t had much interaction with the new aliens. Next, they went over everything to say to make the leader see that they were there to assist and partner with them.

It was almost time for the meeting. Reyes stood and walked over to a table in the shadows. He’d be easily missed if someone glanced over. With this being so important, he was going to observe. He had a lot of hope for this meeting. He was putting all his hope on Alyssa and the light she had within her.

Shortly after settling down, the doors opened and the group was ushered in. Alyssa was at the front with an older gentleman. His name was Christmas and was a straight shooter from what he had dug up. The man wasn’t fond of being on a planet full of criminals. Reyes knew that he’d be thinking that he could bring some law to a lawless place. He was an idealistic man and idealistic men could be swayed.

Behind them was Liam, Jaal and Cora. Pretty much anyone who should be there for diplomatic purposes. He questioned whether he should have had more Collective representatives.

Keema stood and smiled. Alyssa went up to her and they hugged. The new leader seemed surprised by the familiarity between them. Once they parted he moved in. Keema turned to him and held her hand out to shake his. At the same time he lifted his arm, expecting to do the traditional angaran greeting. They both stared for a moment before each moved their hands in the opposite direction. It was comical. Keema’s eyes widened in surprise and Christmas’ mouth dropped open. Liam snickered in the back, trying to cover it by coughing into his hand when Cora nudged him.

Keema got over her shock first. She grabbed his hand, shook it and then led him into the traditional angaran greeting. Not the way he expected the meeting to start, but it was something that would break the ice.

“I’m Keema Dorghun.”

“Christmas Tate.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Christmas.” Keema stood and looked Christmas in the eyes. “I look forward to working with the Initiative. So long as you are all like the Pathfinder.”

He turned and glanced at Alyssa, who only smiled. “I’m sure she’s been a shining example.”

“Indeed she has. She’s proven herself a good ally to Kadara Port.”

“Despite being filled with exiles and criminals, I’ve been told the people here are good.”

“I can assure you that is the case. Sloane Kelly will not be an issue, nor will the Outcasts. The Collective is in control and willing to work with your outpost to make sure that all prosper. You won’t have any trouble with crime.”

The two went back and forth, discussing items. Alyssa put her thoughts in when needed. Reyes was pleased so far, even with the digs at the Collective and people of Kadara. They’d have the time to prove themselves. Keema hit all the points he wanted. The port and outpost would work together on crime. Including investigation and punishment. People would need to sign in and out of the port. Keema was to be aware of anything out of the ordinary. Christmas nodded at each item and agreed. 

Things were winding down now and it looked like they would be moving on. He saw Christmas hesitate a moment before turning to leave. 

“We’ll be having a party tonight, to celebrate the new outpost and the Pathfinder. We’d be honored to have you join us.”

To Keema’s credit, she didn’t look his way. Instead, she smiled. “That sounds lovely. I’ll inform my top people and will have them come as well. I’m sure you will want to meet the people you will be working with.”

“That would be good. We’ll be starting once the sun begins to set.”

“Lovely. Is there anything we should bring?”

“Just the people. We’ll handle the rest.”

“Until then.”

Christmas, Cora, Liam and Jaal turned and made their way to the door. Alyssa stayed to say a separate goodbye to Keema. Reyes snuck out and into the storage room where they shared their first kiss. He waited patiently until he heard someone jogging up the steps.

A quick glance told him where she was and he reached out and dragged her into the room. For a moment it looked like she was going to attack, but then she saw it was him and relaxed. He pushed her against the wall and nipped at her neck. “Seeing you being all professional is a turn on.”

She squirmed against him and then managed to escape his grasp.

She turned to him and grinned. “Then you are going to love seeing me tonight at the party. I’ll be very professional then.”

He turned to her and took a step forward. She took a step back. “You are enjoying teasing me right now.”

She grinned more, which was all the response he needed. “I’ll make it up to you tonight. I do need to go though. They’ll be waiting for me and we’re heading back to the outpost.”

“You will make it up to me. I’ll make sure of that.”

She ran up to him, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, turned and ran out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since the last posting as life has gotten in the way. I'm thinking at this point of ending this with the next chapter and then going into more on offs. I still want to tell Reyes and Ryder stories, but have been thinking of putting it into smaller items and not one large story.


End file.
